Life After Connecticut College

Howdy peeps!

Now that we're at the very end of our fiscal year here at CC (praise to the sweet lord Krishna), I thought I'd take a minute and thank the thousands of alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff, and friends of Connecticut College who have already supported the school this year. You guys are great!!

If you haven't given yet and still want to do so, you've got until tomorrow (Friday), so log on to http://giving.conncoll.edu and make a gift of any amount. Your support is very much appreciated!

Continue reading "End of Daze (Or, Tour for Sure)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SHHH, you guys, be cool! There are only two weeks left in our fiscal year here at Conn, so the last thing I should be doing is blogging, but I just wanted to check in with you to let you know I'm still alive (like anyone is going to give me money at 9am anyway).

Surprisingly, things aren't looking too bad despite the economy. I think a lot of that is due to the fact that Camels like y'all out there realize that today's students need our support more than ever right now. Just to be safe, however, I've been dressing up as Santa and collecting donations in front of Wal-Mart with a Salvation Army bucket (don't worry, I wrote "a.k.a. Connecticut College Annual Fund" in small type on the back of the bucket, so it's all legit).

That having been said, I encourage absolutely everyone out there to make a gift before June 30. A donation of any amount really does make a big difference for today's students, so visit http://giving.conncoll.edu today.

Well, it's back to the grind for this guy, but be well and enjoy the summertime!

Much love,

C-Rex

Posted by Chris Reilly at 8:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy June, everybody!

It's been over a month since I've posted, not because I don't love y'all, but because it's officially the busy season here in the Connecticut College Office of College Advancement Office (I know, the name of the department is kinda redundant overkill). It's also the sunny season, which makes it a little harder to focus than I would like (maybe I can sandproof my laptop and work remotely from the beach...). Things have definitely been crazy lately, but the end of our fiscal year is on the horizon so we're all keeping ourselves motivated with the promise of sweet, sweet vacation days, due to arrive in about six weeks (I'm blowing all of mine on day trips to the historically significant habidasheries of southern New England).

Continue reading "Hat's Okay (Or, Destination: Vacation)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Greetings blog readers!

I guess I owe all of you an apology for depriving you of my musings for so long (as penance I will make say 10 Hail Marys and make 10 fart-related puns before sundown). As you can probably guess, I've had next to no free time lately, and even less "pretend to look busy while I blog at work" time (another casualty of this country's dangerous workaholism).

Fortunately, the postcard-quality weather that us New Londoners have been experiencing over the last few days has kept my mood at "Sunny" and safely away from "Stressing myself out to the point of balding" (if I lose this head of umber curls then we'll all know that life is truly meaningless)....

Continue reading "Home Sweet Home Run (Or, You, Sunshine, Are My Sunshine)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 2:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wowie zowie, it's been a long time since I've logged on to get my blog on (it took me one hour to think of that opening sentence).

I hope everyone out there has been enjoying the occasional sunshine of the emerging spring. I for one am eagerly anticipating being able to grill the majority of my dinners (I've been eating wads of raw ground beef since November and could really use a hot meal and a stomach pump).

My life has been moving along at its typical break-neck pace with hardly a minute to stop and enjoy what's really important in life (for example, I didn't get to watch the most recent episode of "Lost" until Sunday. SUNDAY, people!).

Continue reading "Alaska Whetha They Wanna Paahty (Or, License to Grill)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey gang,

Even though I just blogged on Monday, I'm already back posting again because I looove you! It has nothing to do with me trying anything I can to stop thinking about the fact that I am still 29 hours and 25 minutes away from the start of my spring break (make that 24 minutes!).

Yesterday I witnessed something so hilarious that I just have to share it with everyone I see (and everyone that I e-see, which I guess is what I do with all you wonderful blog readers). Anyway, last night I was at my usual Wednesday night jazz quartet gig at the Bean & Leaf here in New London, and just as our drummer Jonas and I were playing the intro to the first tune, a young man in the front row got up from his seat, walked around to the stage side of his table, and reached for the unused chair that sat there, moving it out of the way of our saxophonist Kevin.

"What a courteous gesture that will minorly improve the quality of our performance," I said to myself in my typically articulate inner monologue. A moment later, it was time for Kev and our trumpeter Johnny to play the opening melody to the song.

They simultaneously drew in a breath each, placed their lips on their respective mouthpieces, visualized the round, clear, warm tones that they were about to produce in harmony with one another, and were about to let the first notes sing from their instruments when the aforementioned young man leaned towards Kevin, whose eyelids were shut tight and whose mind was levitating upwards to the ethereal expanse between consciousness and musical expression, and tapped him on the elbow and asked, "Hey man, what time do you guys play until?"

The obliviousness to the dynamic of the situation displayed by this young man, whose mannerisms displayed no trace of malice or mischief, coupled with the Rolexian precision of the timing of his actions, was so funny to both myself and Johnny that we temporarily lost control of our instruments, producing neither the sought-after dulcet blare of the trumpet nor the growling thump of the double bass but rather something more akin to the flatulence of a cartoon character accompanied by the glissando moan of a drunken orca trying not to vomit all over the ocean floor.

We finished the song and the set after regaining our composure, but all night I was unable to exceed the entertainment excellence that marked the outset of our performance.

Well, that's about it from my life. Tonight I'm watching Role Models (which is FINALLY out on DVD) with good buddy and fellow ex-Conn Laura Brown '07, so I'm guaranteed to have even more chuckles tonight. After that I'll only be a day away from a week off (okay that sentence was poorly constructed).

Happy sunshine day,

Baby White Tiger

Posted by Chris Reilly at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well a how-dy to all y'all! I hope everyone is doing well.

Another Monday lays before us, but at least I can count on one hand the number of days until I'm on Spring Break (assuming that hand is non-disfigured). We New Londonians got a bit of a spring preview this weekend when temperatures climbed as high as 60 degrees! I used this gift from the weather gods as an opportunity to pick rocks and cigarette butts off my lawn (apparently when snow melts it leaves behind rocks and cigarette butts. Awesome.). The project is far from complete (or explainable), but hopefully I'll be able to borrow a rake from somebody and get the grass on my side of the fence to be green in no time.

This wasn't the only unpleasant surprise left by the last gasp of winter that we experienced about a week ago. While shoveling snow for three hours on Monday (my flamethrower was broken), I strained both my wrists, making it quite uncomfortable to play bass. My teacher prescribed some good old-fashioned downtime, and I'm happy to report that I'm currently about 95% of the way to recovery! It just occurred to me that I probably don't need to be typing this blog entry right now (you see what I put myself through just to make you laugh, people?).

Continue reading "Wrist & Wrelaxation (Or, What Happens On Spring Break Gets Released a Few Months Later on CD and iTunes)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 2:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What up, blogistos y blogistas (not sure if those made up Spanish words mean "people who read blogs" or "people who write blogs),

Dios mio, it has been another crazy week here on the Camel Campus in the Whaling City (too many animal references?), so I thought I'd unwind for a few minutes and update everyone on what's been going on.

This past weekend was a treat for me because I didn't have to travel anywhere like I usually do, meaning that I got to sleep in my own bed on both Friday and Saturday nights (that's doubly exciting since I just recently upgraded my bedroom to include a mattress, box spring, frame, headboard, footboard, sideboard, pillows, sheets, comforter, floor and curtains all made entirely out of memory foam). Fortunately, that doesn't mean that my weekend was devoid of musical performances. On Saturday night, my local band Above/Below played its first full-band concert at The Oasis here in New London. The place was packed, and everyone had a great time! I'm sure much of the attendance can be attributed to the fact that there are 10 people in the band (one of whom is Conn Coll dance demigod David Dorfman), so really each of us only needed to bring a few folks to get to capacity. That having been said, thanks to everyone who came!

Continue reading "Go Collabo (Or, Play Local)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 1:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy Friday, everybody!

Another week almost on the record books, and I am definitely looking forward to a few days of R&R (which I guess stands for "Roses & Romance" since tomorrow is Valentine's Day). Despite my singlehood, I'm actually pretty excited about the weekend because Welcome to Florida has shows both tonight (at the Oasis here in New London) and tomorrow night (at the Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge, MA), so I should be able to keep my mind off of my crippling, horrible loneliness (was that a joke? I'll let you decide)....

Continue reading "Roses Are Ready (Or, You Know What I Think?)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 8:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy Groundhog Day, everyone!

Looks like we're in for another six weeks of winter, but at least we have my heart-warming anecdotes to keep us toasty (well, that and this new Snuggie that I just bought off a TV infomercial). It's been another typically busy couple of weeks for ol' C-Rei, but fortunately this coming week looks like it will be just a little more relaxed (to avoid jinxing myself, I just knocked on my 100% formica desktop). Since I last blogged, I finally got Connecticut plates for my car (yes, it took me two years to get around to it), my good friend and fellow Class of 2007ist Trent Hardman came for a visit (yes, she does have the most badass name ever), and Welcome to Florida started recording on our new album (yes, it going to be a bloated, self-indulgent two-disc free jazz and spoken word commentary about wind farms).

Speaking of the band, on Thursday WTF went up to the studios of 92.9 WBOS in Boston, where we recorded a few acoustic songs and chatted on air with their very nice hostess Lauren. If you live in the Boston area, tune in this Sunday morning, when they'll be replaying the appearance (be sure to cover the ears of any small children that may be seated near the radio). It was a lot of fun, and if any other radio stations out there want to have us on, by all means let me know (FYI we have no problem changing the lyrics of our songs to be about farts or traffic or how the Yankees suck or whatever listeners like to hear during wacky morning drive programs).

On Saturday, I joined pretty much the rest of the state of Connecticut in attending the 30th annual Hygienic Art Festival here in New London (too many easy puns to make, so I won't even bother). There was quite a turnout, including an appearance by the newly-crowned Miss Rhode Island (I asked her why anyone would miss Rhode Island. She didn't laugh.) and plenty of local artists and musicians. I didn't actually purchase any art (because that would require having money to exchange for the art), but there were a few pieces that I liked a lot. All in all it was a great show!

Yesterday I accomplished an extreme amount of relaxation with the assistance of Disc 9 of the Ken Burns documentary on jazz (when they finally stop talking about Benny Goodman), unseasonably warm weather, the Superbowl, Coors Light, fellow Class of 2007 New Londoner Laura Brown, an hour-long episode of The Office, and sweatpants (that's my own version of 7-layer dip). My downstairs neighbor Frank also moved out of his apartment yesterday, though he'll still live in town, which is good. That means that all of YOU out there have the unique opportunity to live underneath ME in historic New London! It's a very cool house that was built back in 1801 and meticulously renovated about five years ago. If you're interested in the apartment, check out these photos online and get in touch with me (note: Mitch and I love to grill, so any future neighbors will be subjected to an entire summer of delicious food on our deck).

Have a great week, y'all!

Posted by Chris Reilly at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy new era in history, everybody!

Sweet sugary gumball goulash, what a week it has been for myself and the rest of the nation. Since I last blogged, Welcome to Florida headed down to Washington, D.C., for Inauguration Weekend (which for some reason occurs in January and not in a month where people would actually enjoy standing outside). Wes and his new ladyfriend made their way south on Friday afternoon, and the rest of the band met me here in New London on Saturday morning. Despite all the predictions, the ride down there really wasn't too bad (well, not in terms of traffic anyway, though sitting in a cloud of Duncan's BO for eight hours wasn't exactly a dream come true). Actually, the most difficult part of the drive there was finding a parking space anywhere near the venue at which we were playing or the place where we were staying (it didn't help things that we always travel in a modified '86 Wienermobile). We persevered and eventually found a decent spot, and just in time because at that point my bladder was somewhere around 112% capacity.

Continue reading "A (Mis)Guided Tour of Washington (Or, Line/Drive)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 8:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy 2009, everybody!

Sweet sassy Santa Claus, December was more hectic than any I can recall (with the possible exception of the year that I got tricked into ringing a bell outside of Wal-Mart for 50 hours a week when the Salvation Army said they had "drafted" me). I've been merry-making just as hard as I've been a-wassailing, and I've got the Kringle-esque nog gut to prove it ("Nog Gut" actually sounds like a delicious new strain of super-nougat laced with vanilla and rum).

Welcome to Florida recently played a few Christmas-themed shows, much to the delight of yours truly, who had the foresight to hang mistletoe over my own head in order to catch any free-roaming holiday cheer that may have been circulating around. There was a small but positive response to this idea, so much so that I'm considering hanging mistletoe over myself during every show, regardless of whether or not it's Christmas season (whoa, I just had a vision of this idea going horribly, horribly wrong and me getting some kind of probation for committing some kind of sexual harassment). Both shows were a ton of fun, and I'm proud to say that we collected a pretty great amount of canned goods for charity! Hmm, maybe we can also start collecting canned goods at every show regardless of whether it's Christmas season, and that can help me assuage some of my mistletoe-related guilt!

Continue reading "MMVIII: Farewell to a Year That Felt Like It Was Two Weeks Long (Or, If You Got Sick on January 1st, It Must Have Been Something That You '08)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 9:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy holidays, everybody!

I'm sorry I've deprived you of moderately amusing anecdotes for almost a month, but I've been completely swamped lately (free time has been hard to come by ever since Mitch and I started moonlighting as undercover fashion police a few weeks ago). Fortunately that means I also have some chuckleable stories to share, so let's get started!

Yesterday I exercised the right that each of us as citizens of this great land are entrusted to use each year; that proud and honored tradition where we search our souls, asking not what is right for us but rather what is right for those around us; that civic duty so essential to the American experience that we refrain from complaint even at the sight of brash and unceasing advertisements and mile-long lines. I'm speaking, of course, about Christmas shopping! After a hearty brunch yesterday morning, I dressed in my boldest green and red and white and blue sweater, joined forces with three fellow New Londonians, and braved local crossroads of commerce Waterford Commons.

I know what you're thinking, "Reilly, you're a handsome, computer-savvy member of Generation Y. How come you didn't just do all your shopping online like a sane person?" Great question, hypothetical anonymous reader. You are correct that I do indeed possess the ability to operate a computer (I'm actually using one right now as I type this blog entry), but what you failed to consider is that I'm also quite lazy, meaning that I didn't get around to actually logging on and buying anything early enough for it to arrive in time for me to dole the items out before people leave for their holiday travel.

Continue reading "It's the Most Plunderful Time of the Year (Or, Isn't 80% Off Plus 20% Off 100% Off?)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 8:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Greetings y'all,

It's only been two weeks since I've blogged, but so much has been going on that I wanted to check in (this has nothing to do with me procrastinating at work). It's weird, I feel like some history-altering, once-in-a-lifetime worldwide event took place right after my last blog post, but for the life of me I can't put my finger on it. Something about a bedrock or barracks or a bar that rocks...? Meh, I don't remember; guess it couldn't have been that important!

The weekend before this past one, I headed up to lovely Portsmouth, NH (city motto: "We're like the much nicer but still somehow not as cool New London") to rage a Welcome to Florida show with the boys. It was a perfect location because many of our NH hometown fans were able to make it, but it also wasn't too far for a few Boston fans to come as well (plus the fact that JZ picked everyone up in his new private megacopter made it pretty hard for people to turn down an invite to the show). I had the privilege of sharing a car ride with Laurel "& Hardy" Mitchell '09 (have I used that joke before?) from the Whaling City up to The 'Mouth, as us native Granite Staters call it (not really, we're not that creative). We had a nice chat, but since we already spend so much time together, there really wasn't anything left for us to talk about except for boys and shoes (fortunately I'm an expert on both)....

Continue reading "License and Registration, PLEEEASE (Or, Restaurant Replay)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 2:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Hey Future Leaders,

Wow, so much has been going on lately I haven't even had a chance to update you guys! Since my last post, Welcome to Florida has rocked a few shows but fortunately had the last few weekends off, meaning that I actually got to sleep in my own bed on a Saturday for once (I typically end up on the floor of a fan's abode after a show; let me know if you'd like sign up for WTF's new Rock-a-Bye Rockstar program).

The weekend before last was of course Fall Weekend here at Conn, and we experienced record-obliterating attendance because we publicly announced the $200 million Campaign for Connecticut College, which runs through the end of 2013. It was great to see so many familiar faces on campus and to meet so many new alumni, including the guys from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, who played a great show on the green on Friday night. A highlight for me was definitely watching the Campaign video, which I encourage everyone to watch online.

This past weekend I had a low-energy Halloween on Friday, as I had just returned from a tiring but successful business trip to New York (much love to fellow blogger Nate Borgelt '07 for letting me stay at his place!). There were some pretty good costumes, but I'm a little steamed that my "Suburban Dad" went underappreciated (I wore sensible shoes for nothing!). I spent most of the day Saturday with a few fellow New Londoners, including a short stint hanging out on Bank Street during which I saw literally everyone I know drive by (if only I were involved in some sort of business selling things on the street corner....). On Sunday, I joined the CC Orchestra for a family concert; it was a lot of fun because a majority of the audience members were young children, who got to learn about classical music and the instruments that make up an orchestra.

In other news, THERE'S AN ELECTION GOING ON TODAY!!!! I have absolutely no idea who will win and can hardly focus on anything here in the office (hence the existence of this blog post). If you read this in time and haven't voted, GO VOTE! I will hug you (hug not guaranteed).

Well, I could go on, but it's almost 5:00, which means that it's almost time for me to go home and drink away my pretty-election jitters (just kidding (not really)).

Have a good one!

C-Rei

Posted by Chris Reilly at 3:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

What up, y'all!

The weekend is right around the corner, and I could not be more excited! Tonight, I'll be playing a Welcome to Florida show here in New London at the Oasis; if you're in town definitely come check us out at 11:00! Tomorrow, I'm heading up to Boston to staff the Head of the Charles on behalf of Conn. Despite my ignorance of crew culture, I'm pretty excited about the event because there's always a great turnout by alumni (plus I relish any opportunity to litter on Harvard's campus). I'll be there all day, so stop by tent #11 and say hi (be sure to get there early before the SWAG-hungry clamoring throng makes it impossible to score a free pen). On Sunday, I'll be at my parents' house in leaf-laden New Hampshire attending a going away party for my brother, who is moving to Oregon in a few weeks (astute blog readers may recall that Tim is a video game programmer, but unfortunately he is not moving out there to work on the Playstation 3 edition of Oregon Trail).

This past Saturday, the WTF boys and I raged a show up at Johnny D's in Somerville, MA, where the other three members of the band reside together (I still don't understand how they can live on Summer Street in Somerville but still be in Spring Hill). There was very robust attendance from the greatest class ever (2007, duh), including Keith Anthony-Brown, Kerri Casey, Zach Smith (I think), Lindsey Allison, and Matt Magida; thanks for coming everybody! Since there was a Red Sox game going on during the show, most of the male attendees hung out in the back of the venue to watch the TVs while the women occupied the dance floor (there was kind of a middle school dance vibe going on). During one of Wes's guitar solos, the crowd erupted in cheers and applause, spurring Wes on to play even more enthusiastically. After the solo, Wes looked up to face his adoring fans, only to realize that the Sox had just hit a game-tying home run and that the audience was actually cheering at the television. I was cheering for you, Wes!

On Wednesday, I played a show (I guess) with Above Below, the 10-piece hip-hop/R&B (I guess) band that I'm in here in New London. It was part of the annual New London Food Stroll, where patrons purchase buttons for about $30 and then get to sample food and beverages from dozens of participating restaurants while strolling through the downtown area and listening to live music (true story: since I played the entire time, the only food I got to sample was a miniature turkey sandwich). There was a very nice turnout and perfect strollin' weather, so everyone definitely had a blast. The only constructive criticism that I have is that next year, button-wearers should stay stationary in front of the bandstand the entire evening while restaurateurs stroll through the crowd handing out their creations, being sure to offer the first samples of each dish to the musicians (did that come off as selfish?).

That'll about do it for me. Have a fun weekend everybody!

Posted by Chris Reilly at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey Gang!

Phew, things here at Conn have been insanely hectic, but at least it's a fun kind of hectic (I guarantee somebody will write a crappy country song called "It's a Fun Kinda Hectic" within 12 months). As you may recall from my previous post, two weekends ago was Camelympics here on campus, the annual event where dorms compete against each other in a variety of athletic and decidedly not athletic contests. Mitch and I were lucky enough to be adopted by Plant and Branford respectively as their official staff member competitors, and it was an honor that we did not take lightly. I'm happy to report that, as expected, we both dominated our events! Mitch continued his streak from the past two years by snatching up first place in the 1-mile race in a brisk 49 seconds (running a mile for Mitch takes about as much effort as lifting a butt cheek to fart), I grabbed gold for the fourth time in crossword puzzles, and we tied for the top spot in arm wrestling (we're exactly equally matched because we practice arm wrestling against each other 2-3 hours per day). We were so excited by our ever-expanding mountain of gold (okay, plastic) medals that we decided next year we're going to get official residence hall status for our apartment so that we can win Camelympics ourselves instead of just helping some dorm. I'll let everyone know how that goes...

Continue reading "Gold Rush (Or, Absentee for Two)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What up everybody!

Things in New London have been busy as ever for the last couple weeks, but I thought that I'd take a break and check in to update you about what's been happening (plus, it's casual Friday, and my work ethic evaporates as soon as I put on a pair of jeans).

Two weeks ago, New London hosted the third annual I AM Festival, which in reality is a day-long concert down on the pier, not eight hours of self-affirmation as the name suggests (the I THINK I CAN Festival isn't until November). It was a pretty solid lineup of bands (Welcome to Florida was suspiciously absent, ahem....), and what was especially cool was that there was a stage on either end of the pier, meaning that while one band was getting set up on the main stage, another band was playing on the second stage and vice versa (Mitch and I tried to have our deck be the third stage, but the best act we could book was a Jim Croce impersonator named Elmer). It was a fun day that attracted a pretty decent crowd, so it was definitely a success!

Continue reading "Barack N' Roll (Or, Crossword Crossroads)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 8:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey gang! Well things are in full swing here on campus with the new academic year, and I must say I've reacclimated to working past 5:00 and wearing a tie much more easily than I had anticipated (the booze helps). There have also been plenty of happenings outside of work recently, including of course plenty of Welcome to Florida shows.

One recent WTF highlight was back on Aug. 23 (my dad's birthday), when we played a bar in Somerville, MA, called Razzy's, which just so happens to be only a block or two away from where the other three members of the band live (I choose to distance myself from them geographically not because I worry about band tensions becoming too high if we all live together but rather because Duncan hasn't quite nailed this whole "showering" thing yet). I believe that we were the third band ever to play this particular establishment, which some people might classify as a dive bar (although $7 pitchers and gold spray painted squiggles on the ceiling do have a certain understated elegance). Regardless of any concerns about the ambiance, we packed the place tighter than the owners had ever seen before (don't get excited, that only means like 75 people) and had a great time. We'd love to be back any time, Razzy's!

Continue reading "It's Getting Haute in Here (Or, Happy Birthday to Me!)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 9:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well it's been another hectic few weeks for ol' C-Rei, but thankfully there's also been plenty of fun thrown in the mix, so my stress level is definitely manageable (Mitch's nightly shoulder rubs also help a lot (eww)). Plus, I'm taking a day off on Friday so it's almost the weekend for me already! Woop woop!

As frequent blog readers can probably guess, a lot of my time has been spent driving to, rehearsing for, playing, and afterpartying Welcome to Florida concerts (I liken the afterparty of a show to the follow-through on a golf swing: with either one you [OBSCENE BALL JOKE DELETED]). Since the other three members of the band don't currently have what I like to call "jobs," they all have plenty of spare time to book new gigs and network with club managers and other bands, which is great. We've also begun work on our next album, which is very exciting (most of our time in the studio thus far has been spent doing impressions of Star Wars characters into expensive microphones).

The WTF summer saga continues this weekend....

Continue reading "Welcome to Tourida (Or, The Fall of Summer)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 1:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wow, I haven't blogged in a month, simply because the last four weeks of my life have been probably the busiest of my life (the winter break I spent interning as a fact checker for Outrageous Claims That May or May Not Be True Magazine is a close runner-up). I finally have a chance to catch my breath and update y'all on my recent goings-on.

I'll flash all the way back to my last blog posting, which occurred right before SailFest. For those who don't know, SailFest is the biggest annual event in New London (though it really only holds that title because Chris n' Mitch's Beers, Babes, Buoys, and Bratwurst Barbecue Beach Bloated Blowout is only semi-annual). Each year, over 50,000 people come to the Whaling City from all over the world the weekend after July 4th to check out classic cars, dozens of bands (including Welcome to Florida), street vendors, amusement park rides on the pier, painstakingly-restored tall ships, and of course, the main attraction, Saturday night's fireworks display, which rivals any in the nation. This year's crowd was definitely the biggest I've seen, no doubt due largely to the fact that the weather was simply unbeatable (plus Mitch had his shirt off for a while, so that was probably a pretty big draw as well). Our apartment was definitely party HQ for all our friends since we're right in the middle of downtown and we have the best deck on the planet. It was a great situation because when things got a little too crowded out on the streets we were able to just relax for a while (also, our bathroom is a lot roomier than a Porta-Potty, which was nice)....

Continue reading "All Hail SailFest! (Or, The Big Easy Is a Bit Greasy)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mamacita, I haven't posted a real blog entry in a month! As you may have guessed, things at Conn have been CRAZY trying to get as many gifts in the door as possible before we close the books on Fiscal Year 2008 (cue 612-hour slow-motion montage of every gift I've gotten this year). We're actually still open for a few more days, so if you haven't done so already, go online to http://giving.conncoll.edu and make your gift. We only need 6 more donors from the Class of 2007 in order to be the first class ever to break 50% participation our first year after graduating. We can do it!

Much like Marissa, I've also been quite busy during the weekends, mostly because of all the Welcome to Florida shows this summer. They've certainly been fun, but it was nice yesterday to finally have a chance just to chill out (I spent the day out on the deck naked to the waist in a kiddie pool full of tapioca pudding; it does wonders for my skin, not to mention my tastebuds!). There are probably too many stories to mention from the past month, so I'll just pick a few highlights....

Continue reading "Fork of July (Or, No Flash Photography, Please)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 1:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Hey Guys,

We've made some very nice progress with our giving drive since my last post! We're up to 41.6% and only need gifts from 40 more people in order to become the first class EVER to break 50% participation our first year after graduating! Don't forget to visit http://giving.conncoll.edu by June 30 in order to be a part of the success. Just like last year, even a dollar will do it, and this goes for all the alums out there, not just Class of 2007!

New Class of 2007 donors since my last update:

Eve Bertin-Lang
Nate Borgelt
Jessie Cheitlin
Christine Cruz
Vickie Curtis
Justin Eddings
Emily Gagen
Sam Garner
Rose Golder-Novick
Sara Jayanthi
Daniel Layfield
Jenny Madden
Neil McGowan
Jon McManus
Alexis Meisels
David Owyang
Tyler Pace
Jaime Pepper
Caeli Rubens
Melissa Skolnick
Zach Smith
Elaine Weisman

Posted by Chris Reilly at 9:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey Everyone,

It's that time of year! Conn's fiscal year is closing in about 3 weeks, and I want every member of the Class of 2007 to visit http://giving.conncoll.edu and make a gift before that time so that we can show the College that we're serious about creating a new tradition of consistent young alumni giving. Fortunately, we're still all about the participation, so keep those $1, $5, and $20 gifts coming in! Currently we're at about 37% participation, which is good, but we can DEFINITELY hit at least 50%!!! Here's a list of everybody in the class who's already made a gift:

Keith Anthony-Brown
George Arab
Sarah Armstrong
Lucy Arnold
Leah Barison
Emily Barry
Meghan Barry
Peter Baum
Laura Bernardi
Jessica Bethoney
Michelle Blankenship
Avery Block
Meredith Block
Chris Bothur
Katherine Brant
Caitlin Bresnahan
Laura Brown
Sarah Butler
Indy Buttenwieser
Kathleen Callaghan
Jason Carey
Kristin Chapman
Elizabeth Charpie
Solomon Choge
Ben Clopper
Katie Coats
Tes Cohen
Jess Comras
Chrissy Cooper-Vince
Caley Corsello
Liz Cryan
Rachel D'Agostino
Sophia Day
Zumara De la Cruz
Daniel De Sousa
Jed Dederick
Andy Deitz
Dani DeLaurentis
Adam Deligianis
Maria Dewees
Tina Dietrich
Jennifer Dillon
Kip Doble
Connor Donohue
Scott Faber
Brittany Fallon
Alex Feinstein
Sarah Felch
Bailey Fidler
Kevin Finefrock
Amber Fitch
Sophie Fitzgerald
Soren Gabrielsen
Rachel Gallitto
Henry Gaud
Joanna Gillia
Christiana Glas
Ally Glassman
Megan Glendon
Molly Goettsche
Art Gould
Lindsay Graff
David Greenidge
Liz Greenman
Marissa Grey
Jess Grossi
Ga-Nesha Hamilton
Cornelius Hardenbergh
Emma Haritos
Pat Heffernan
Sara Helstowski
Jake Henry
Yeslan Hernandez
Nate Hinman
Kristin Hocevar
Tana Hoffman
Grant Hogan
Emily Honstein
Dana Hoyt
Laura Irizarry-Garcia
Vassi Ivanova
Hans Jensen
Ross Jordan
Ryan Kelley
Fred Kemper
James Knurek
Bob Kyne
Donna Lanphear
Alex Lanstein
Amanda Laramie
Michele Lefkowitz
Robbie Logan
Whitney Longworth
Matt Magida
David Markham-Gessner
Amy Martin
Mike Materasso
Alex Maybury
Craig McCarrick
Megan McCarthy
Andrew McCullough
Meg McLaughlin
Justine Miller
Alissa Minot
Justin Morrow
Brenna Muller
Rysia Murphy
Visna Ngov
Micki Oliva
Kyle Olson
Mike O'Neill
Matt Ostrach
Andrea Packard
Soraya Palmer
Elizabeth Parillo
Natalie Paris
Ellen Paul
Beth Pearson
Teresa Pereira
Cammie Phelps
Adam Phillips
Evan Piekara
Jon Pisarski
Amanda Poe
Alex Rehnberg
Chris Reilly
Allison Reynolds
Mollie Reznick
Kimberly Richards
Alyson Ricker
Nick Rivera
Adam Robbins
Melanie Roberts
Beth Rodgers
Adam Romanow
Justin Rosenberg
Alexander Rotolo
Amanda Rowell
Nick Roybal
Rosemary Rutan
Amy Samuel
Meaghan Seelaus
Benjamin Sheldon
Ilya Simakov
T.J. Sliker
Allie Smith
Nicholas Socha
Seth Solway
Greg Sowa
Christopher St. John
Peter Sterling
Alex Stillson
Steven Strauss
Charley Struse
Brenna Sulat
Erin Sullivan
Cait Sweet
Jesse Szafarz
Alyssa Tartaglione
Sasha Terris-Maes
Will Thayer
Katie Tripple
Marissa Velarde
Amanda Wallas
Lisa Warren
Alice Watson
Alan Weene
Stefanie Weiss
Ingrid Wenzler
Katy Whitney
Katie Williams
Gerald Wols
Bradley Wray
Laz Yiannos
Tyler Youngblood
Allison Zelman
Jessica Zhao

Thanks for your support, everybody! If you're not on this list, BREAK OUT THAT CREDIT CARD AND GO ONLINE TO http://giving.conncoll.edu TODAY!!!

Posted by Chris Reilly at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After an entire year of preparation, countless conference calls, endless planning sessions, and an innumerable number of hiccups and obstacles, Reunion 2008 has finally come and gone! It took place this past Friday through Sunday, and it was even more hectic and busy than I remember from last year (it could also be that I was actually getting work done this time around). I somehow managed to put in 41 hours over the course of the three days, and in fact I was so busy that I didn't get a chance to have even a single drink with any of the alumni!

Despite my complaining, there were many more positive things about the weekend than there were negatives....

Continue reading "Reunion Recap (Or, Inaugural Cookout Countdown: 3 Days)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 1:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It hasn't been too long since my last post, but already there's plenty of new developments to talk about (spoiler alert: most of these anecdotes involve cameos from one or more members of the New Kids on the Block).

Last week I played my last two Conn-affiliated concerts of the year, the first being the Student Composers' concert on Wednesday and the Connecticut College Orchestra concert on Thursday. Both were quite nice, and I'm pretty sure I can pin the success of each on the participation of Anthea Kreston and Jason Duckles, who are the College's violin and cello teachers, respectively. Anthea and Jason played many of the students' compositions on Wednesday night, and I had the pleasure and privilege of joining them on the performance of a piece for violin, viola, cello, and double bass. The following night, both of them were joined by Rieko Aizawa, who together comprise the Amelia Piano Trio, to perform Beethoven's Triple Concerto (contrary to what you might expect, a triple concerto is not, in fact, a mysterious and much-whispered-about high dive maneuver whose grace and difficulty is matched only by its deadliness). I can say without risk of overstatement that the performance was one of the most fulfilling I have ever played on double bass! At the same time, however, it will be nice to have fewer rehearsal for the next three months....

Continue reading "Age of Aquarium (Or, I Love You, Mama!)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 1:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Howdy gang! I haven't blogged in a while, so there's plenty to gab about (I just got through re-re-reading all my dog-eared copies of the entire series of The Babysitters' Club, so I'm feeling pretty talkative today).

On Monday morning I actually got out of bed with more than a half hour until I had to leave for work (very unusual), so I decided to check out some TV while eating breakfast. I flipped on the tube, saw that it was tuned to VH1, read in the lower left corner that the video that was about to start was "Beat It" by Fallout Boy featuring John Mayer, and immediately turned off the television and ate in silence. I've been developing a new theory that Monday morning sets the tone for the entire week ahead, so I wasn't about to risk screwing myself over for five days just for a little distraction while noshing on an eggwhite omelet (some people think I'm an egg racist for only eating the whites, but really I'm just trying to avoid the cholesterol)....

Continue reading "Welcome to Floralida (Or, Movin' On Up)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 3:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Okay, I know I just posted on Tuesday, and I hate to have two consecutive Chris's posts up on the main page, but there will be riots in the streets if the general public doesn't have access to my every thought, word, and action (when my autobiography Curled Domination: My Hopes, My Heroes, My Hair, My Story was released back in '02, dozens of people were left in critical condition after throngs of eager readers bum-rushed every bookstore from coast to coast, although most of the injuries sustained were actually just paper cuts).

Today is, without a doubt, the absolute nicest day in New London for at least the last 7 months. Coming back from lunch (Mitch and I went to the Dutch and then strolled over to Michael's for ice cream because we are now officially dating), it was very difficult to not kick off my work shoes and frolic with the students out on the green, but alas duty calls so I came back to the office (plus that old football injury from high school makes frolicking a pretty painful proposition). Fortunately, I had a very productive morning, so I'm not facing a mountain of work to do before the weekend like I often am on Friday afternoons. It is, however, a little bit hard to focus when I know that it's such a beautiful day outside. To counteract this phenomenon, I've changed the desktop picture on my computer a shot of a drizzly, gray afternoon at the New Jersey shore (in case you don't know, my distaste for the Garden State is matched only my desire to see it snap off the coastline and sink into the Atlantic never to return).

Continue reading "Higher Rents and Providence (Or, Scratching At the Windows to Get Out of Here)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 1:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm finally back in my regular work groove after a dizzying couple of weeks (I mean that literally; I've been moonlighting as a merry-go-round quality tester for a few local amusement parks who are making sure their rides are up to code before they open for the season). The 5th Annual Connecticut College Film Festival took place all last week, which occupied a significant portion of my time. It was worth it, however, because there were some really great films that alumni had worked on, the most notable of which was, in my opinion, No End in Sight, produced by Jessie Vogelson '96. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary at this year's awards, and I can definitely see why: it was an informative, well-made, and moving account of the first few years of the war in Iraq. I highly recommend it regardless of how you feel about the war. The best part was that Jessie came to campus to share her experience working on the film and to take questions from the audience; some people even stayed for more than an hour after the film was over! Also on hand was my good buddy and classmate Keith "SteadyCam" Anthony-Brown '07, who was there to talk about the various film projects that he's been working on since graduation (he also filled in to host the CC Film Trivia Challenge for original emcee and Conn grad Forest Whitaker '83, who became unavailable at the last minute because he had to fly out to LA to promote his new movie Street Kings). All in all, it was a great week of films!

Continue reading "Lights, Camels, Action! (Or, Solo Burrito)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Spring has sprung at Connecticut College! It's still a little chilly out, but the sun is def getting it's shine on like whoa (I'm too lazy to un-street that sentence). People around here are in a festive mood, as evidenced by the success of our big Senior Soiree this past Friday. Though I seldom get nervous or anxious (it's hard to do so after you've been accidentally naked on national television as many times as I have), I was a little worried that no one would show up to the event. Fortunately, about 300 seniors were there! The purpose of the evening was primarily to get more gifts for the Senior Giving program, with a secondary goal of helping the seniors build class unity; I'm happy to report that both were accomplished! We passed the 50% participation mark, and everybody had a great time (the last fundraiser I planned that was this successful was the 2nd Annual Rock the Smocks Festival back in '03, which was a two-day concert to help raise money to support and promote fingerpainting throughout North America)....

Continue reading "Springspan (Or, I Miss You, Free Time)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 8:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mama mia! Sorry I haven't posted in so long, but I was on Spring Break last week and had nary an opportunity to access my computer (in case of future incidences in which I don't post for a week or more, all readers are advised to listen to Welcome to Florida CDs on repeat and read my old blog entries in order to avoid potentially dangerous withdrawals). I was out of the office for over a week for the first time since I've been working here, and accordingly I scheduled as much friend visitation time as possible (I haven't had to actually schedule visitation time since I did six months in the Kingston General Penitentiary for calling Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding a bumbaclot).

Things kicked off the Thursday before last when I headed down to New York to attend a gathering for alumni of my high school, Lawrence Academy (Spartan shout-out). Interestingly, event host Tim Armstrong '93 is an alum and trustee of both of Lawrence and Conn, so he and I had plenty to talk about! Since he's a VP at Google, the event took place at Google's NYC HQ (FYI, there isn't an actual search "engine" anywhere in the office; turns out they just use a bunch of servers, not the 80-foot-tall mountain of piston-pumping, smoke-spewing, churning, turning, undulating metal that I had expected). Simply put, it was a great event, except that now I've been lassoed into being an alumni volunteer for Lawrence, which means that during the free time I have outside of work not raising money or planning events for Conn, I'll be raising money and planning events for Lawrence. Fun! I don't really mind, but if someone at Lawrence asks me to start blogging for their website I'll probably have to draw the line there....

Continue reading "Spring Broke (Or, Say "Cheese")" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 9:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well this was certainly a weekend to remember! I had a Welcome to Florida show on Saturday night in New York, so on Friday, Mitch, Nate Staub '05, and I headed down a day early to hang out with various peeps whom we hadn't see in a while. Since Nate was staying with Winslow Porter '05, we decided to drive straight from New London to the Brooklyn bowling alley at which Winslow was hanging out. We got the cross streets for the alley from 'Slow, plugged them into the GPS, and saddled up. 95 was a little bit of a mess because of the heavy rain, but we only saw one minor accident on the whole trip, so most of the drivers out there were taking it slow and driving safe, which was good. That having been said, it was a little irritating to spend 3.5 hours to go about 130 miles, but at least that gave us plenty of time to gab about hair products and The O.C. (uhh, never mind)....

Continue reading "Setting the World Record for Most Conn Alumni Seen in One Weekend (Or, I Know People!)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Happy Friday everybody! Man, it is a beautiful day here in New London; I can't wait for it to be springtime at Conn!

This should be a pretty bumpin' weekend for ol' Baby White Tiger (that's my rap handle in case you didn't know). Things got off to a bit of rocky start yesterday when I woke up suffering from gastrointestinal symptoms that are a little too graphic for the blog, so I'll just refer to them as "nausea" (a little discretion goes a long way, I find)....

Continue reading "Peaceful Queasy Feeling (Or, Wry Cleaners)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

What a week it has been! Everyone in my office is gearing up for Insights, which is basically two days (tonight and tomorrow) for alumni volunteers who will celebrate a reunion either in 2009 or 2010 to come together to start planning their reunions (if that seems like planning things way too far ahead of time, just keep in mind that Reunion 2009 will have a tropical theme, and it takes longer than you might think roll all of a fully-grown camel's hair into dreadlocks). Compounding the chaos is the fact that the Board of Trustees and the Alumni Board of Directors are both here and that this week we're holding the annual Dinners with 12 Strangers for students, alumni, faculty, and staff, so the sheer number of VIPs, VVIPs, and NNVIBSPIPs (Not Necessarily Very Important But Still Pretty Important People) that are around is a little staggering. However, it's a great opportunity to really energize all three groups, so I'm glad that everyone is here at the same time....

Continue reading "Preunion (Or, There Will Be Babies)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 4:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This is the 50th post on the Class of 2007 Blog! Congratulations to all the writers and readers who have made this e-xperiment a success (I, personally, want to thank the little people). Ah yes, it seems like only yesterday that I made my first mildly entertaining pun....

Right now I'm gearing up for a brief but (fingers-crossed) effective trip to Boston tomorrow. I only have two meetings, which will be nice because I'll have plenty of time to focus on just these two alumni on the train ride up. The only problem is that I'm not sure what I'll be doing about watching Lost tomorrow night! Hopefully I'll be able to meet up with fellow '07er Kerri "The Things They Kerried" Casey (she's a bit of a 'Nam buff) and a few other Camels to catch what will undoubtedly be another top-notch episode....

Continue reading "Milestones Are Much Easier to Pass than Kidney Stones (Or, I Look Great in Black in White!)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 2:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Phew, I am back safe and sound in New London after my trip to Boston (total burrito count: only 1, but it was good), where I spent Sunday through yesterday morning attending a development conference and visiting alumni on behalf of the College. The trip was definitely successful, but since I worked on Saturday and Sunday and got back to the office around noon yesterday, my internal calendar is completely thrown off (you don't even want to know what condition my inner child is in). Last night I went to sleep around 8:00 (not on purpose) because I had been up until 2:00 the night before waiting in vain for a T ride that never came (wow, that would be a great song lyric). Fortunately, Conn put me up in a nice hotel, so I managed to rack up some solid rest in a limited amount of time....

Continue reading "Refried Beantown (Or, Sleeping Beauty)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 9:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Whew, I am glad it's Friday! I've got quite a busy weekend ahead of me, though, so I won't be able to get in as much couch time as I would like. It all kicks off at 4:00, when the entire Becker House staff will get together for a wine tasting courtesy of Scott Hafner '80, who runs a great vineyard out in California; thanks Scott! Later tonight, Mitch and I will probably go see There Will Be Blood, which, contrary to my previous understanding, is not the film adaptation of my post from last week about donating to the Red Cross (but then who did I option those production rights to?). I'm excited that the movie is finally playing around here because southeastern Connecticut is typically pretty bad about getting flicks that aren't in the mainstreamiest echelon of film (how many Dane Cook movies can a man see?).

The rest of the weekend will be pretty much entirely Conn-centric (see what I did there?).....

Continue reading "No Sweat (Or, Wine All You Want, You're Still at Work Until 5:00)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 2:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's my pleasure to introduce our three new bloggers! I'm very excited to have each of these people on board, and I hope you'll check in frequently to hear about their lives. Also, I encourage everyone to post comments in response to what they say.

Sophie "Blond, Platinum Blond" Fitzgerald was an English major while at Conn and now writes for Men's Health magazine in Pennsylvania. She is actually a seasoned blogger, meaning that there is a lot of pressure on her to be extremely fascinating, funny, and insightful (no pressure (yes there is)).

Ross "The Boss" Jordan (nickname not my own) is an accomplished artist and currently works at Trinity College's Art department. In his free time, Ross enjoys being The Boss (Springstein be damned).

Finally, Marissa "Explains It All" Velarde (yes, I am aware that I used that joke in a previous post) is putting her experience as a Biology major to good use at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where she works as a Research Assistant in Emergency Medicine. She is a big fan of the blog and considers it a dream come true to be a part of it (that may or may not be true).

Without any further ado, I'll let these guys start blogging!

Posted by Chris Reilly at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Oh man, the season premiere of Lost was last night, and it did not disappoint in the least! Anyone out there who is a fan definitely knows what I'm talking about, and anyone out there who isn't a fan should probably quit their job, rent the first three seasons on DVD, and catch up on last night's episode before this bullet train I like to call Season 4 gets away from them (I might be using a lot of locomotive metaphors in this post because I currently have "Runaway Train" by Soul Asylum stuck in my head). Also, my friends and loved ones should be advised that should they suffer a serious physical injury or emotional trauma during the hours of 9:00pm and 10:00pm Eastern Standard Time on any Thursday in the next few months, I will be unavailable to offer a ride to hospital or a shoulder to cry on (not that anyone who knows me would be dumb enough to seek me out in a time of crisis).

On to the big news I mentioned in the last post: I am very pleased to announce that we'll be adding three new writers to the Class of 2007 Blog! Rest assured that I have hand-selected the cream of the best (huh?), so be sure to check back in next week when they have their debut posts (barring any complications associated with the Writers' Guild strike)....

Continue reading "Love "Lost" (Or, Eww, There's Blog All Over My Friends!)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ATTENTION CLASS OF 2007: We're having a One Year Out Reunion on Saturday, May 17 from 8:00pm-12:30am in the campus bar, and you are all invited! There's a Facebook event for it; check that out for more info. I hope to see everyone there!

The Senior Giving bar night on Tuesday was a success; who would have thought that a bunch of 21-year-olds who haven't seen each in other in a month would want to come together to drink cheap beer and eat free pizza? I guess there are still some mysteries in life (another great mystery: who let the dogs out?). As of right now, the seniors are at about 25% participation, which is definitely a good start, but now it's time to shift things into high gear. The Big Hig wants at least 50% by Spring Break, and I'm not inclined to disappoint him! Speaking of our giving progress, it's pretty exciting to be in the Advancement office these days; this is by far the College's best year ever for fundraising, and I definitely encourage all the alumni, parents, and students out there to be a part of it.

I actually got to see a really exciting example of the fruits of our fundraising efforts last night when I went down to the Athletic Center to use the gym....

Continue reading "Pumping Stellite Bichromium Carbon Alloy (Or, Working for the Weekend)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 8:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yet again, I am back at work after a busy weekend and very much need a few more days off. As I mentioned previously, I was in New York on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to meet with young alumni. The meetings were good, but what can get tiring is trying to kill time between meetings, especially since they are sometimes 2-3 hours apart. Since I seldom stay at hotels while on the road, I have to find cafes where I can sit and type on my computer; this usually works out fine, but sometimes baristas get a little steamed (pun intended) when you sit in their establishments drinking a small coffee for an hour and a half.

On this particular expedition, I stayed with my fellow blogger, former roommate, and feminine-looking sidekick Nathaniel "Nate out of Ten" Borgelt. I didn't get to spend as much time with him as I had hoped, but we did get to have lunch together on Friday at a new Mexican place near his building. For those of you that aren't acquainted with my pabular preferences, burritos are by far my favorite food (so much so that Mitch and I are thinking about opening a late-night Mexican food delivery place in New London called Vaya Con Burritos). That was actually my second burrito of the trip; I had eaten lunch the previous day at Chipotle, so needless to say I was muy satisfacado by the end of the trip....

Continue reading "If I Can Waste Time There, I Can Waste Time Anywhere (Or, The Road-Ready Reillys)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

First order of bidness: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MITCH! He turned 25 yesterday (gross). On Saturday we had a really fun party for him, and a lot of our fellow Conn staff members came over to celebrate. One of my coworkers, Liz, is married to one of Mitch's coworkers, Tim, so they were there and even brought their 5-year-old twins along. Dan, another one of Mitch's coworkers brought his 3-year-old, so there was a quite a contingent of people under 4 feet tall. I was actually a little nervous about having the kids there, not because I thought they would break anything (the net value of everything in our living room is about $11) but rather because people under 17 seldom find me funny (once you strip away the humor from my personality, there really isn't a lot of substance left). I ended up watching the kids for most of the party, which was a lot of fun! I even got several compliments on my child-handling ability (I'm very nurturing).

All told, the weekend was a good one....

Continue reading "25 Years Ago Today.... (Or, A Camel's Jump)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well if nobody else is going to blog, then I guess I'll just have to do it! Just kidding, this time of year is hectic for everybody, so I'm sure the rest of the bloggers are just busy with their daily lives. I know, for example, that Nate's New Year's resolution was to lose his gut by rollerblading 10 miles everyday, so that's got to take up a lot of time (plus there's the 2-3 hours a day he spends on haircare, not to mention all the karaoke practice).

Things are actually kinda quiet on the ol' Conn College campus since students are on break for another two weeks. A few kids are around, however, most of whom are athletes. Mitch and I supported the Camels twice last week, though not with our usual cheering and elaborate post-scoring celebration choreography (we're really quite graceful) but rather in the form of driving the women's ice hockey team to and from the airport for their trip to Minnesota (that sounds like the setup to a really funny joke, but it's actually true). In order to drop them off on time for their departure flight, I had to get up at 4:15am; before that day, I didn't even know there was a 4:15am! Needless to say, that is slightly earlier than I usually wake up. It was definitely worth the lost sleep, however; the players were very appreciative, and they had a great time on their trip...

Continue reading "Rise and Shine and Drive to Hartford Before the Sun Comes Up (Or, The Lonesome Song of a Development Officer)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYBODY!!!! Wow, it's been a while since I've blogged! I apologize to anyone out there who's been experiencing withdrawal.

Today is my first day back on campus since December 21, and I'm having trouble remembering how to work (I've deduced from staring at my business card for an hour that my job has something to do with alumni). Granted, after having ten days off I should be well-rested, but this break was definitely the kind that you need a few more days off to recover from....

Continue reading "RIP, 2007 (Or, If You're On Break, Don't Fix It)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 8:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

First off, let me tell everyone to check out the photos from the Class of 2007 Half-Year Reunion, which you can view by clicking the link under the pictures of the seven bloggers on the main page. There are some pretty cool shots!

On to more pressing issues! So Mitch and I had our much-anticipated ugly holiday sweater party on Tuesday, and I'm proud to say that I took the prize for most heinous specimen (the sweater, not me). It was a tight contest (it was literally tight; I was wearing a women's size medium), and there were some good contenders, but it's tough to beat a lime green cardigan with ice skating reindeer, mirthful snowmen (sorry, snowpeople) and a dancing Santa. Despite the fact that this God-awful green garment guided me to victory like a tacky neon lighthouse, I did not hesitate to return it to Sears after work yesterday [Editor's note: I swear to the Ghost of Christmas Past that this is the exact sweater I wore to the party; thanks to Ben from College Relations for the Photoshopping]....

Continue reading "Ain't Nothin' Better Than a Man in a Sweater (or, Show Mo' Photos Fo' '07)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well this was a weekend for the record books! As you may recall from my last post, I headed up to Boston for a holiday party at the home of Jaime "The Ferocious Five-Footer" Pepper and for a Welcome to Florida/Rustic Overtones double bill at Harper's Ferry (Boston's premier Civil War-themed rock venue). Along for the ride was, of course, my roomie Mitch "Nebraska?!? I hardly know her!" Herz as well as our friend Laurel "Rude, Crude, and Tattooed" Mitchell (she's actually only tattooed, but I thought she could use a more substantial nickname). Compounding the fun factor of the weekend was the fact that Laurel's 21st birthday was on Saturday. Not surprisingly, it was quite an adventure....

Continue reading "Where Elf Am I Gonna Go on a Friday Night? (or, Rock 'n' Role Models)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 8:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, December is upon us, meaning that 'tis the season of wintry weather, wassailing, wonderment, and weight gain (in that order). I've actually been pretty good thus far about keeping my merriment maximized (okay, now the alliteration is approaching an absolutely excessive echelon JUST STOP IT, REILLY!).

On Friday, I attended an ugly holiday sweater party in New York with a few of my friends, including fellow bloggitarian Nathaniel "Mister Mistletoe" Borgelt as well as Class of '07 members Ali "AliCat" Filippelli (yes, I am in fact too lazy to look up the correct spelling of her last name), Sophie "SophFitzticated" Fitzgerald, and Alyssa "Explains It All" Tartaglione. The prize for ugliest and holidayiest sweater went easily to Alyssa, who had her sweater brought in from another state. It was well worth the effort; the hideousness of this garment quite simply eludes description.

The holiday party streak continues this Friday...

Continue reading "Holidaze (or, Christmas Spirits)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I really do enjoy being on the road for Conn. Meeting with alums is great, but the time between my meetings is often even more interesting (boring introductory statement complete).

On Monday I was strolling the streets of Washington, DC, a.k.a. "A Windy City" (they make no claim to be the only windy city, unlike a certain other presumptuous blusterous metropolis), and I was flagged down from about 50 feet away by a young woman whom I thought was former fellow Conn College Class of '07 Camel Julia Kwolyk, but who, upon closer examination, turned out to be a Greenpeace worker. Since I had already made eye contact and walked towards her, I felt obliged to stand out in the beastly breeze for a minute and speak with her. As someone relatively new to the field of fundraising, I was also interested to see what her solicitation strategy was like...

Continue reading "50 = 1500 (or, Greenpiece)" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 10:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So Friday was our big kick-off party for this year's Senior Giving drive. I'm in charge of the program this year and have the task of more than 95% of the seniors to make a gift (could be tricky because no group of people could ever do anything better than the Class of 2007 does anything (that was confusingly written (sorry))). Anyway, the party was a lot of fun, and we're already at about 20% participation! One of the best things about it was that the turnout was great despite the absence of alcohol. As usual, President Higdon said all of the right things; he really makes my job easier in that regard.

Right now I'm in DC doing some alumni visits, which is nice. I've met 14 new people just in the last two days and have yet to get anyone's name wrong (knock on wood). Yes, I actually did just knock on a piece of wood when I typed that (assuming that this end table in Starbucks is made out of actually wood and not just compressed, bleached coffee grounds). I've had to drink a lot of coffee this week because I need to use the free wireless in cafes. I guess buying a Blackberry would probably rectify this situation, but frankly I'm not sure if I'm ready for that kind of lifestyle change; fellow bloggist and former Chris Reilly roommate Nate "Flaxen, Waxen Locks" Borgelt got an iPhone a few weeks ago and has not been the same since. The last time I saw him, he was standing in front of a 10'x10' black cloth backdrop on a street corner and rambling about how incredible it is to have so much functionality in one device. Actually now that I think about it, that might have just been a TV commercial.

It's almost meeting time, but I'll add more updates from the road later.

Posted by Chris Reilly at 3:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Whew, what a Thanksgiving weekend! I spent my four days off with my roommate and fellow Conn staff member Mitch "Put My Thang Down Mitch It and Reverse It" Herz. Since his family lives in Nebraska (apparently they are indeed human, though I was previously unaware that there were any non-corn species living anywhere in the state), it would be a major expenditure of time and money for him to travel home. So, he came to my parents house with me! Our journey began on Wednesday afternoon...

Continue reading "Bird is the Word" »

Posted by Chris Reilly at 4:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Howdy gang,

Let me say welcome to all of you who are visiting for the first time! Today, the College Relations department (housed in the same building as the Chris Reilly department) sent out the latest e-newsletter, which contains a story about this very blog. We're also planning on including a mention in the CC magazine, the Conntact, the website, and the Voice. Additionally, tomorrow night I'm getting "lifeafter.conncoll.edu" tattooed on my stomach in the same font that Tupac had "Thug Life" tattooed on his stomach; I might also get Tupac's six pack inked on me while I'm there.

I encourage all visitors to comment on the posts that people have written. Just click on "Comments" at the bottom of whichever post you want to respond to. The more you comment, the more our bloggers will want to post!

Posted by Chris Reilly at 3:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Hey writers and readers,

The Life After Connecticut College blog has officially launched, so it's time for the posts to begin! We'll be making an announcement in the upcoming e-newsletter that goes to all alumni, and hopefully we'll have links from the Conn website and the alumni online community up soon.

Interestingly, the blog shares a birthday with our own Nate Borgelt, who turns 23 today. Happy Birthday, Nate! Make sure you check in soon to read about what he wishes for while blowing out the candles on his cake tonight (my guess: more photos of himself on the blog).

Posted by Chris Reilly at 4:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I began working at Conn about a week after graduation, which gave me just enough time to lie on the beach for a couple days and to attend a few graduation parties. Five months after starting, I still very much enjoy being at the College and helping accomplish its goals. As the Graduate Assistant for Advancement, I get to work with young alumni and students, travel around the country, organize and attend alumni events, and raise money for the Annual Fund. My favorite part about the job is connecting with other alumni and hearing their stories about the College and their hopes for its future. In my spare time, I still play with the orchestra on campus, and my band Welcome to Florida just released our fifth album. Check us out at welcometofloridamusic.com.

Posted by Chris Reilly at 5:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)