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Everyone knows that I don’t need much of a reason to turn something simple into a bigger event.  I’ve been known to celebrate my birthday for a week.  Throw together pub crawls for new employees.  I even ran a half marathon in April just so I could get some friends together at the honky tonks in Nashville.

Before I moved from Chicago last year, I crammed in everything I loved doing or meant to do there into just a few weeks.  Twenty-four straight days of Hitzapalooza was filled with some of my favorite things, like going to see a friend’s band play, checking out a new concert hall (twice), going to tourist spots like Navy Pier and the Hancock, eating sushi downtown, attending sporting events and eating at five of my favorite deep dish pizza places. 

The last day of my farewell to Chicago was an amazing party at my favorite bar.  And when I say favorite bar, we’re talking like Norm at Cheers, except switch out that beer for a vodka-red bull. The playlist at Mullen's that night was all of the best jams from 1997, the year I started at Northwestern.  When the Spice Girls came on, Tammy Williams told me that it reminded her of the junior high dance.  While that kinda stung a bit at first, it made me step back and look around the room to appreciate the different groups of friends I had made through my time in Chicago. 

It was humbling to be surrounded by so many incredible people.  There were two Olympians, a Heisman trophy finalist, several national champions, a handful of former NBA and MLB players, some current pro softball players, a few 1000-point scorers and a couple national coaches of the year.  We even had a 1980s Ohio Paperboy of the Year in the house!  I also had several of my very talented former student workers and interns at the party and my favorite graduate assistant, Ashley Cross.  I’ve mentored dozens of people through the years, but Ashley stands out among them.

Even though she was also in junior high when I was graduating college, she is one of my best friends and closest colleagues.  It was tough to say goodbye to her when I came to Oklahoma, so I was thrilled when she accepted a position at Old hat just a few months later.  She came to Norman to manage a web department full of guys who actually knew what HTML meant, and she rocked it like I knew she would.  I’ve always thrown Ashley into the deep end because she is mature beyond her years.  She definitely acts older than me!  She has proven herself time and again so we are very excited she is opening Old Hat's Chicago office beginning August 1st.  When you put a challenge in front of A-Town, it's a slam dunk.

We're going to spend the rest of the month remembering some of the cool projects she has been a part of, as well as some of the fun she has brought to Old Hat so be sure to friend us on Facebook (Old Hat) or follow us on Twitter (@oldhatcreative) as we take a look back at the last year with Ashley.  Then, we will end the month with a party, of course.   We’ve been throwing around some ideas on how to make it a Cross Party so maybe some Cross Racing, drinks at the Cross Eyed Moose, Cross Dressing ...

Or dress backwards like Kris Kross and party like it's 1992!

You never know what will happen when it's an Old Hat Party ... and despite Ashley's last day in Norman falling on my birthday (worst birthday present ever, btw), it will be awesome to be with Ashley as she takes that next big step in her career.  Let Crossapalooza begin!