ATLANTIC CITY --- THE 21ST BIRTHDAY!

THE BORGATA HOTEL IN ATLANTIC CITY
(ME, KEVIN, TYLER, ANT, MIKE. CLINTON PORTIS, WILS, EDDY, BUTCH, CHRIS & JON)
Staking a claim in Atlantic City: Borgata Hotel and Casino named best hotel beverage winner.(Cheers Beverage Conference): An article from: Cheers

WILSON, ANT, PORTIS, KERRY & TYLER
Clinton Portis Autographed Jersey

MELINDA, TINA AND ME
Casino Royale [Blu-ray]

C. PORTIS POURING PATRON DOWN MIKEY PARLAY MOUTH
Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland

Next time you get a chance, think back to your 21st Birthday, if it was a tame night in with your best girlfriends maybe you should ask a friend...either way I'm sure it went something like this.."Well first we pre-gamed at my friend ____'s place, then we headed to the BAR (the one I've always wanted to go to but could never get in), then my friends proceeded to try to get me drunk by taking mass amounts of SHOTS...I tried to get to 21..but made it to 7 and was really tipsy (but I had a lot of beer too!!) I had the best time ever and made it home around 1:30." Okay, let me give you a little different take on it...10 meats and (2 girlfriends to of course include Tina) headed to Atlantic City, New Jersey for the weekend. Any excuse to put this group in a Casino they will jump     at the opportunity, this opportunity came with Mikey 'Parlay' Conte and my 21st Birthday (that happens to be 1 day apart - the 21st and 22nd of June). We packed into two rooms at the new Borgata Hotel in AC and went right to work. By work I mean we grabbed a solid dinner and then established a 'low-post' at the most centralized hotel bar. The next couple hours went as suspected (an overall phenomenal time) until a very recognizable face walked past our 5-wide table...it was none other then the Washington Redskins All Pro Running Back Clinton Portis. As a current University of Miami student, Mikey Parlay yelled to the 'U' graduate "Hey Portis!!! The U Babbbyy the U!", while course     displaying the Miami University hand signal. Portis,  of course, turns and displays the 'U' sign back and goes and sits at his table on the far side of the hotel bar. About 10 minutes later our huge party receives a round of shots at our table..could it be from the Portis table, after a solid thumbs up we realized it was. After another 5 minutes another round had shown up at our table and then another. Finally, Mikey 'Parlay' and I walk over to Portis' table to thank him for his generosity and tell him basically it is our 21st Birthday,  we don't like the Redskins but we like him (no homo) and we are ready to party. The response went exactly like this "Listen, I don't get drunk...I get other people drunk and I will not stop buying drinks until someone in your group has to 'fall-out' back to their room" Boom...Let's Go!! Before we know it Clinton is at our table (with his random crew) buying the most expensive bottles of Patron the bar had and having a 'too-good-to be true' time (The pictures show it all). To not get into too much detail the night ended with a select few accompanying the Pro-Bowler to the high roller Blackjack Tables and hoping he "threw me a 1k chip." Also confirmed was the Eddy 'the Lebanese Mamba' Simone getting Portis' cell phone # and a promise they we would all do it again the next night after Clinton returned from Kimbo Slices' first professional MMA fight. (who by the way was also staying in the Borgata and I can personally say was the most intimidating person I've ever seen). I'm not going to say that the exact same situation happen the next night..but Portis DID call E. Simone after the Kimbo fight and this time he brought his college buddy Lito Sheppard of the Philadelphia Eagles. Amazing...simply...Amazing. There was also a little Blackjack played throughout the epic weekend. All in all, I would go on a limb and say it was the best-damn 21st Birthday a guy could ask for...period.

ME AND THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLFRIEND
Recycled Patron Tequila Candy Dish / Condiment Bowl

C. PORTIS GETTING AFTER IT!!
Patron Tequila [Explicit]

PORTIS WITH THE DANBURY CREW
Atlantic City

PHI-DELT SPRING FORMAL 2007

SPRING FORMAL AT THE ROCK QUARRY
(ZIRKLE, EASTON, MCGREEVY, DUANE, ME, HUNTER, JASON)
Phi Delta Theta 3'x5' Fraternity Flag

ZIRKLE, MCGREEVY, ME, JASON AND HUNTER
Phi Delta Theta - Wilson Maximum Novelty Golf Ball

Phi-Delt Spring Formal is not only the most looked forward to, culminating event of the year it is also a damn classy formal. And by classy I mean we drank red wine and had a sit-down dinner at a wedding ceremony location for the first/only time of the year.  Then event starts with all Phi-Delt brothers meeting at the Delta House with their 'stunning' dates to take pictures (because its the first/last time you will see us in a shirt and tie), drink champaign (I'm talking Andre, not anything good) and begin get mentally ready for the night we have ahead of us. When the time came we piled into coach buses began the 20 minute drive to the Carrigan Farms Rock Quarry. Upon arrival we parked in a huge field (that looks to be in the middle of know where with no water in site) and then preceded to walk into the trees, down a stone path where it opens up into one of the most amazing sites a Delta could imagine. (Click on the Rock Quarry link above for some awesome pics) The sequence of events usually went something like this.

LET THE DANCING BEGIN

1) Arrive at the Phi-Delt Meca

2) Take memorable group pictures with the Quarry in the background.

3) Eat amazing Steak and Potatoes Dinner made by Quarry Staff.

4) Continue eating the Steak Dinner until there was no more steak available

5) Finish the wine (because it was the most expensive)

6) Great band begins playing all of the Phi-Favorites

7) Epic Senior Speech takes place - Junior Speaker roasts / congratulates  / idolizes Seniors for their amazing four years. The speech our class gave has been enshrined at the Delta House ever since. (pic. middle right)

8) The dance floor becomes alive with great dancing and (pic. top right)

9) Begin focusing on the ten kegs of Carolina Blonde

10) Shirts-Off with Tie pictures become more frequent (below)

11) Someone gets naked and cliff-dives into Quarry and swims to dock

12) #11 starts a chain reaction....

SENIOR SPEECH
(MCGREEVY)

13) Try to find your way and not miss buses back to Davidson

14) Recover Stragglers (pic. bottom right)  

15) Return to Delta House --- Keep It Going!!!!

That should give you an idea of how the Phi-Delt Spring Formal usually goes. There are a hundred of stories and moments that I will never forget and I know none of the guys/girls that were there will either. UNREAL -UNBELIEVABLE - UNTHINKABLE - UNREALISTIC TO HAVE THIS MUCH FUN!!!

THE STRAGGLER - AARON

THE SHIRTS-OFF WITH TIE PICTURE - ME, THOMAS & BUD
The Catalogue of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity

SAINT PATRICK'S DAY 2007

THE FAKE MUSTACHES & MULLETS ARE ALWAYS A BIG HIT

(A BALIA, ME, CHAPMAN)

 St. Patrick's Day Garden Flag

THE FESTIVITIES JUST GETTING STARTED ON RIVER STREET




 Let's take a second and think of the Top 5 best places you would want to go for St Patrick's Day.

      1) Dublin, Ireland
      2) New York, NY
      3) Boston, MA
      4) Chicago, IL
      5) Hoboken, NJ



ST. PATTY'S DAY MORNING - ME, BALIA, ZWICK, MANIRE

If I were to say anywhere south of the Mason Dixon Line and/or anywhere in Georgia would you think I was out-side my mind? Well I am not because Savannah, GA throws "the second largest St. Patty's Day celebration and parade in the United States." I would love to say that I knew all about the huge party just a couple hundred miles away in Davidson, NC but honestly I had no clue until 3:30am the night prior to the festivities. Sitting on the porch at a local sorority house (called 'Eating Houses' at Davidson) I was told all about the annual event by my buddy Mike Chapman who was heading there in the morning. He extended the invite for the next day but it would require waking up in about 2 hours, which was, at the time, unthinkable. You know where this story is going...I was abruptly woken up 2 hours later, didn't completely remember the convo from the previous night, threw on some pants and made my way to the car parked out front. The trip was better then I could possibly imagine and Savannah exceeded all expectations. The cobblestone streets of Savannah's River walk were packed with people from 10am to 3am. River Street was blocked off from the rest of the city to keep the debauchery isolated, however that becomes difficult when 350K - 400K people make their appearance known for the 3 glorious days. In Savannah, Saint Patrick's Day offers a 3-hour parade with over 300 organizations from Firefighters to Military Units to the Budweiser Clydesdale's. After the parade the streets are littered with folks in amazing St Patty's Day costumes, bag-pipe bands, food vendors (serving my favorite HUGE Turkey Leg) and live concerts featuring Irish tunes or classic rock. Oh by the way...there are hundreds of Pubs stretching as far as the eyes can see, all stocked with Guinness and Smithwick's pints. Signs that read "$1 Drafts" and "Buy 1 get 1 Free" were everywhere as the local establishments fought for the business of the thousands of temporary Irishmen. My group did not discriminate and was happy to provide business to as many venues as possible. After the weekend had ended Savannah, GA was right at the top of my list for Saint Patrick's Day celebrations and I would recommend anyone who has not experienced it to drive south to Savannah and BOOK IT early. An overall phenomial time that will be hard to top, even by the big boys (NYC & Chicago).

TALMADGE MEMORIAL BRIDGE - VIEW FROM RIVER STREET



BAGPIPERS ROLLING DOWN RIVER STREET

Green Gourmet Sugar ~ 1/2 Pound ~ Holidays, Christmas, St. Pattys Day



NYC NEW YEARS EVE 2007

NEW YEARS EVE 2007 - NEW YORK CITY
(MCGREEVY, DUANE, BUD, BIG ZACH, ME, JON)
Megamind (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

PRE-GAME AT EDS PLACE IN QUEENS
(ME, BUTCH, DUANE, MCGREEVY, BIG Z, BUD)
EP- '2011 Glitter' New Year's Eve Party Glasses (One Size, Silver Glitter)

PRE-BALL DROP
(BIG Z, MCGREEVY, DUANE, BUD, ME)
New Year's Eve Murder (Lucy Stone Mysteries, No. 12)

You always hear that you should do New Years in New York City at least once before you die...I agree. However, most people think of that corny out-of-towner yelling and screaming their brains out wearing 7 Under-Armor layers (because its 13 degrees and a brisk 24 mph wind coming out of the east) and drinking hot chocolate (that was nice and warm about 3 hours ago but is now taste like a mocha ice coffee).  I still agree you should do NYC but I have a different take on it. I say you grab about 13 of your best friends, buy a 1-night open bar package at a semi-classy NYC establishment, and 'live-the-dream' for about 4-5 hours. The evening started with 6 of us (mind you 3 of us had never been to NYC) taking the metro-north to from Brewster to Grand Centrel Station. From there we took the 7-line to Queens to meet the rest of the group at E. Simone's place just off the campus of St. Johns University. After a solid pre-game, we made our way back to Manhattan to the venue. I wish remember the name of the place but from about 8pm until the 'Ball-Dropped' we lived it up while ensuring we got money's worth. After the ball dropped we took it to the next level and sealed the deal as we made the 2007 New Years the best New Years Eve ever. Some of the highlights of the night included McGreevy getting temporarily kicked out of the bar for slapping Bud in the face for being 'real tired,' a member of the group being temporarily kicked out for relieving himself in a flower-vase because the bathroom line was a 20 minute wait, the DJ playing Love Generation (the single most joyous song which we had only heard in Acapulco) right after the ball dropped and the 15 of us climbing on 2 tables and dancing through the entire song, a member of the group getting permanently kick out for punching the biggest man any of us have ever seen (he made 6'3 315 pound BIG Zach look like cabbage patch kid) and finally walking half of Manhattan looking for a cab to drive us to Queens (needless to  say it took us hours to find a guy, on New Years, who would take us, what it seemed like across the country, don't worry when we found one -- he charged us just under million dollars) The amazing night was topped off by the 4am shenanigans (definition - Silly or high-spirited behavior; mischief) and a couple of us sleeping in positions that could not have been good for the neck. See Below. 

TINA AND ME - DAMN SHE'S HOT!
New Year's Eve Concert 2010

LOVE GENERATION - LETS GO!!!!!!
(BIG Z, MCGREEVY, DUANE, ME & JON)
New Years Eve (Feat. Marty James) [Explicit]

POST - BALL DROP - DAVIDSON BOYS & WILSON
Silver Legacy New Year's Eve Party Assortment for 10

I FOUND A NICE RELAXING CHAIR
New Clothes for New Year's Day

NEW YEARS DAY IN TIMES SQUARE
Meyda 67741 New Years Eve Wall Sconce

BIG ZACH FOUND A NICE CHAIR TO SLEEP IN
New Year's Eve Ice Cream Collection

WASHINGTON D.C. 2006

TINA AND I IN-FRONT OF THE WHITE HOUSE IN FALL 2006
Frommer's Washington, D.C. 2011 (Frommer's Complete)

TINA & I - NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
The White House: Behind Closed Doors

THE WHITE HOUSE
The White House: An Illustrated History

THE TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER
Cold Steel US Army Officer's Saber with All Steel Scabbard

Any excuse to make a trip north to see Tina I took full advantage, this excuse came during a mid-season bye week. The weekend gave Tina and I an opportunity to spend some much needed quality time, so we met at about the half-way point between Davidson and UConn -- Washington D.C.. We stayed in a great hotel and hit all the tourist spots in the city. It was the first time I had been in D.C. since I was real young and really enjoyed it. We made trips to all the Government buildings, the Museum of Natural History, the Holocaust Museum, Arlington National Cemetery and some awesome bar that had a 100 beers on tap. It was a typical Tina and Zach trip as we jammed as much as we could into a couple days. I would say the highlight of the weekend would be visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Soldier, pictured on the right, is guarding the sacred tomb of unknown Soldiers from WWI through the Korean War. Its an absolutely unbelievable ceremony and I hope everyone has an opportunity to experience it. Recently I asked Tina what her best memory of this weekend was she stated "I had the absolutely best Caramel Macchiato from the Starbucks in the hotel....everrrr." That figures but either way we had a great weekend and were sad to see it end.