Medium Rare Trip to Italy: With you I shall leave

I don’t remember any mice in Michigan. I think it was too cold. Or my Mom was just that clean. The only invaders in my childhood house were the occasional ant, spider, or Satan’s favorite insect: the earwig. All of these could be squished with a paper towel. The apartment in New York City wasn’t the same... Read more »
By Chris O'Brien,
Monday at 7:55 am • 

Medium Rare Trip to Italy: Cinque Terre

I hope Cinque Terre always stays a little bit under the radar. That it remains in that “Italy’s best kept secret” category. So, I figure, what better way to keep things secret than to go out there and publish a 1,000 word blog post raving about it. Cinque Terre means “The Five Towns” in Italian. Each... Read more »
By Chris O'Brien,
December 12, 2018 at 6:01 am • 

Medium Rare Trip to Italy: Florence

Last week, I saw an article on LinkedIn where Elon Musk claimed you have to work 80 hours a week to change the world. This sparked a heated debate in the comments section about work-life-balance and, to some degree, a philosophical question on whether or not “changing the world” is worth that type of personal sacrifice. So,... Read more »
By Chris O'Brien,
December 10, 2018 at 6:23 am • 
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So, am I allowed to eat anything anymore? Guest Post by: Jon Oldham

When I was in college, I ate a lot of Club crackers and Oreos. My roommate at the time, Jon Oldham, was studying to be a dietitian and would say things like, “Carbs and sugar are the reason you have a perpetual stuffy nose.” And I thought his advice was crazy. Made no sense to... Read more »
By Chris O'Brien,
December 3, 2018 at 7:41 am • 

Please, take this idea: The Supreme Court of Social Media

Facebook was a messy place to be during the 2016 Presidential Election. Almost every day I would see a post that started with, “I don’t normally talk about politics on here, but…” I’d read that first sentence and think, “Oh boy. Let the fireworks begin.” Within five minutes, there would be someone with the polar opposite... Read more »
By Chris O'Brien,
November 26, 2018 at 7:31 am • 

Medium Rare Trip to Italy: An epic lace chase in Burano

Three seconds on the clock. John Stockton passes the ball to Chris O’Brien. Two seconds. One second. Shot goes up. It’s good! Jazz win! Jazz win! Like every kid in their childhood driveway, I imagined taking the last shot of the NBA Finals. But unlike 99 percent of my neighbors here in Chicago, I spent 1997 and 1998 rooting for... Read more »
By Chris O'Brien,
November 21, 2018 at 8:35 am • 
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Medium Rare Trip to Italy: Venice, movie stars, and one really aggressive pigeon

We got off the train from Rome to Venice and I remember looking out at all the buildings along the Grand Canal with this mixture of, “Woah.” “Where am I?” and, “What in the world is going on??” In Rome, it felt like I could at least comprehend what I was looking at. The brain... Read more »
By Chris O'Brien,
November 19, 2018 at 8:03 am • 

Medium Rare trip to Italy: Roman Colosseum, The Vatican, and Pope on the Slopes

I like the security of having money in savings. I like talking myself into what the 401k will look like in 30-40 years. I like the cheap thrill of an Uber pool. And since my Squirrel side is always burying acorns, by the time we get to the 14th or the 29th of the month, our checking account... Read more »
By Chris O'Brien,
November 14, 2018 at 7:32 am • 

Medium Rare trip to Italy: From London to Rome, with a side of jetlag

Our trip to Italy started with a flight to London. We got through security at O’Hare, arrived at the gate, and right outside the window was the biggest plane I’ve ever seen. The Airbus looks like a Beluga Whale with wings. How this thing gets off the ground makes no sense to me. It’s like seeing... Read more »
By Chris O'Brien,
November 12, 2018 at 6:54 am • 
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Wait, expensive hospitals aren’t the best choice? Guest Post By: Dave Chase

The first Monday of every month, I’ll be running a new series here called “Medium Rare Healthcare.” The premise: Healthcare is incredibly confusing and expensive, but it doesn’t have to be and there are a lot of people out there working hard to turn things around. The goal of this series is to bring these experts in who provide... Read more »
By Chris O'Brien,
November 5, 2018 at 7:10 am •