The 11 annual T-Box

This weekend I will participate in a Christmas holiday tradition in the city of Chicago that dates back many years ago (11 to be exact). The event T-Box, short for Twelve Bars of X-mas, is a pub crawl that takes place in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago's Northside. It consist of twelve bars (hence the name) and it runs from 10:00 am to whenever you "tap out".

In light of this blessed Christmas event I thought I would talk in today's blog about the importance of 1.) Training 2.) Day of Rituals and 3.) General tips for the event that I hope will get me through it in one piece:

1.) Training: After four years of college, one of which was spent in Dublin, Ireland, I feel like I had a pretty solid training base. However with an event such as this one must always remember that it is a marathon not a sprint. I learned that the hard way on my first crawl: Titled the "First Annual, Last Annual St. Patrick's Day 'Dart' Crawl" (the Dart is their equivalent to the EL). Being a wee lil' girl only 20 (which is legal there) I was the youngest of the group and therefore the stupidest as well. Needless to say by 10:30 am I was stealing potatoes out of people's stew at the pub. After that debacle I learned to train. How might one train? Easy don't go out and get wasted every night (sounds crazy). Train your mind to not push yourself beyond a "healthy" buzz.

2.) Day of Rituals: Costumes are a must, why not make a complete ass of yourself if you are going to do it. Be prepared with plenty of late night munchies (high in carbs) to settle to the stomach. Write down some note from the day/night that you can then go back to for reference the morning after. And most importantly eat a big breakfast and chug a lot of water.

3.) General tips: Do not.. I Repeat Do not... Invite anyone who has not already seen you at your worst! This is just asking for one of the stories that gets told every time you go out in big groups and then everyone looks at you like "wow that girl can't hold her liquor". In other words invite those who make you appear stronger. Also a pictures speaks a thousand words, document your trip down drunk lane, its funny and helpful in some situations!

So as I embark on my "not so noble" trip ahead wish me good luck and god speed, and wait on a great blog filled with delicious tidbits from the event.