Sweet Catastrophe

So Tuesday I got a late start. Really late. My alarm failed me, so I woke up about two hours after I should’ve been on the road so instead of going to Katie’s, I drove straight to Best Buy in Alpharetta.

The drive was pretty uneventful. I didn’t miss any turns or anything and made really good time with one stop for gas. If it hadn’t been so damn hot I wouldn’t have needed to stop for gas, but my air conditioner had to go full blast since there’s a little issue with that.

We had no problem at Best Buy walking down and aisle to make it front row. You can read a quick bit about the show here.

We left there to go to Ruby Tuesday for the worst service, but the best food. They had it way too dark with the blinds drawn and the lights way too low. If I hadn’t been so hungry I could’ve slept. Our waitress pretty much forgot all about us after she brought our appetizer so we stopped her and pointed out that we’d been there for like 15 minutes since she’d brought out the appetizer and she hadn’t taken our order yet. From then on she tried to make us feel guilty and instead just made herself look like a bitch who shouldn’t be in food service. Come to think of it, I really shouldn’t have left a tip and I don’t know why I did….I don’t care what the situation is, you should never make your guests feel guilty….She even came back and said something about not wanting to make us feel guilty and when we said we didn’t she said something along the lines of, “well I just feel like you guys are being all nice now,” REALLY? Sorry we were assholes before for asking you to take our order when we’d already been in the restaurant for almost 30 minutes…

Tangent, sorry! Anyway after that Kristi rode with me back to Katie’s and we got stuck in a parking lot forever when we missed a turn and tried to turn around…it was pretty crazy. We got all settled and sat around talking for a while and promptly passed out ’cause we were all pretty tired.

And I need to play some Super Paper Mario right now so the rest of my oh-so-exciting trip will come later ;)

The Tabernacle, Atlanta June 25th, 2008

We set out late in the afternoon for Atlanta and I think we ended up parking around 7:15. We wandered around inside, figuring out where we’d be and found out that the balcony seating had been sold as well (it was originally just General Admission) so we settled into the crowd in the pit. We really weren’t all that far from the stage, and had we wanted to, we probably could’ve worked our way pretty close to the stage, but again, we were going for a laid back concert experience.

Honey Honey came out right on time and I enjoyed them! I’ve heard mixed reviews from others who’ve seen the tour but I pretty much enjoy anyone who can combine a banjo and lyrics including ‘fuck’ harmoniously. I need to track down some of their music to form a solid opinion.

Matt Nathanson was next and I was already pretty into him so finally seeing him live solidified my love =) He’s way too great at working a crowd. There were a lot of people around me who weren’t familar with him before who were definitely enjoying him. I’d say he’s certainly made some new fans on this tour.

After his set I found Kristi and Katie and we got in line at merch to see Matty. I was gonna buy a tshirt, but they had seperate vendors for Lifehouse and the openers and the openers weren’t taking credit so I couldn’t use my debit card. Katie and Kristi got pics and got kind of shoved out of the way so they couldn’t take a pic for me so I just got my ticket signed and slid out of the way before I got smashed by some drunken ladies.

We ran around a little again trying to decide on a suitable place to watch Lifehouse but gave up and went back downstairs to really stand in the back.

The guys came out and all was well with the world. They had some major enthusiasm going. Jason did a couple of clips of Running Away, SCC, and Everything when Ben’s guitar went wonky. Bryce really tore up Bridges–it was fantastic! Normally it’s nothing special, but I think he finally found the right energy for it and everything was just so on!

Of course I cried a little during From Where You Are, it was really beautiful live and I had almost forgotten they were going to be playing it.

This was my first time not being within the first couple of rows and it was an interesting experience. The lighting looks really incredible from the back. When you’re in the front row it just feels like a lot of flashing, but it looks great in the back.

It was cool to finally see what it’d be like to just chill and not fight the crowd, but really, I don’t think I ever wanna do it again. Katie and I agreed that we were aching to be up there; there’s just a totally different energy when you’re up front with the people there who are just as ridiculously excited as you are. It felt weird to hear Spin live and not be jumping around, but hey, now I know and I won’t complain at the next show. It’s totally all worth it!!

We didn’t get to the store too early on Tuesday. We were working on the whole ‘laid-back’ vibe for the trip. Worked out really well! We went in and there was a line to the side,  but we quickly realized we could just walk up another aisle and be front row. So we stood around and listened to them play Who We Are (the full album) repeatedly. Nice at first, but considering we were about to hear some of these songs live for the next two days–just wasn’t necessary.

Anyway they came out and ended up playing First Time, Whatever it Takes, Broken, You & Me, and Hanging by a Moment…not in that order. Jason did something a little different when singing the ending of You & Me so of course that was nice.

They were definitely in a good mood and the witty banter was on point. Someone brought up Bon Jovi at some point which sparked Jason to talk about how hot he is ;) I’ve missed those boys. Anway, afterwards we got in line to get signatures, we really just wanted to get around so that Kristi could pass along her message for them to make sure they came out after the Milwaukee show (I will not pout). Mission accomplished and it was time for FOOD.

This week it’s the theme song to Shining Time Station–my first memory of George Carlin. RIP

Theme song at the start and Mr. Conductor shows up about 4 and a half minutes in.

Andrew and Keri are coming this weekend! I’m excited to hang out with them–I just hope I’m not too exhausted! We’ll be driving through the night on Friday so I imagine I’ll be sleeping a good bit on Saturday, unless I somehow manage to sleep well in the car.

We need to round up some more cardboard boxes so Andrew can take the rest of his stuff with him. I’m sure William would like to get all his stuff out of his room and I’d like to get rid of the stack in the kitchen.

There will definitely be some Wii time needed, though we’re gonna have to get controllers from somewhere…hmmm…I wish you could rent controllers when you rent games; I’d love to play Mario Party this weekend!

Ryan’s supposed to be going out to find a new car today. Sunday night we talked about all his options and some of the places he can go in town. He’s determined to have a car today, or next week as soon as he gets back into town. I don’t blame him for being so eager. He hates needing to rely on someone else for rides and I totally understand that. I mean, he’s even having to travel more than necessary just to make sure he can be somewhere on time, ya know?

I just really hope he doesn’t end up with another car that just falls apart. If he goes with what he can most afford, that’s a problem I really fear, but if he shoots for something that he’s gonna have to work to pay for, I think he’ll be okay. If he gets something closer to new, he’s probably gonna have to do some car insurance comparison before he changes his plan, which he just paid….*sigh* We need a money tree. A big one.

I really hope he can find what he needs…I know I’ll rest easier knowing he’s got reliable transportation. Even when he just drives it across town I worry about it falling out on him in the middle of bad traffic or something…that’d be an accident waiting to happen, ya know?

Aside from the amazingly horrible cramps, my pal still didn’t drop by this month. I’m taking suggestions now on everything I need to bring up as possibilities on what’s wrong and what we can try to sort this out when I go back.

I talked to Momma on Sunday and we started my list. I’ve got to find out for sure exactly what all they tested when I went in originally because we didn’t really discuss it thoroughly. I know they checked my thyroid, and she said something about still sending all the correct signals, but I don’t really remember what she said about my hormones. I don’t know if maybe I’ve got some whacked levels of progesterone, or what……I guess I’m gonna have to scrounge up some money for a specialist. We need to make sure there aren’t cysts or anything like that.

It’s also been suggested to me to use a morning after pill, sort of as a ’soft reset’ to see if that could get things going again, so I need to ask about that.

I really wanna go in with like, a note pad and just make sure I get out all my thoughts on it because this is seriously driving me crazy. I mean, to have this going on and the pains I’ve been having–and no idea whether or not the two are connected in any way!

So tomorrow I’m heading out for the week. As stands, Tuesday I’m heading to Katie’s to meet up with her and Kristi so we can head to Alpharetta for a Lifehouse in-store performance at Best Buy there. On Wednesday we’re going to Atlanta for their full concert at the Tabernacle. It’s been decided that we’re just gonna hang out in the back for this one so we can actually go talk to Matt Nathanson after his set since no one has been coming out after shows this tour.

If everything works out, Thursday I’ll leave and head to Alabama to meet up with Ryan there. He really wants me to see one of his shows and was talking about how he wished I could come with him one of these weekends so he could see me between all the work–well, I had taken off extra time this week so I could have a few days of nothingness when I got back from Atlanta, so this is probably the only shot I’ll have at going with him. It’s not set in stone yet since it depends on some of the final arrangements Kenn will be making for the weekend (there’s been talk of flying instead of driving) but I’m cool either way.

So yeah, that’s why I’ve been doing all this running around. I just didn’t realize how much I still needed to do in preparation for being gone for a week. I’ve gotten used to the stuff that needs to get done before Ryan leaves, so I kind of forgot that I needed to do some things for myself as well!! That’s why I had to rush to Douglas yesterday–to borrow the Garmin. Now I’m going nuts trying to do the little things around here that I’ve been putting off on top of laundry for both Ryan and myself and video conversions for both Ryan and myself and trying to remember everything I need to pack! I need to go over my list again…I know I forgot to write down usb flash drives so I can empty my camera memory onto one so it’ll be open for tons of new pictures this week….

Honestly, my vacation may end up being more of a hassle than anything…we’ll see!

Does anyone know where I can get just some basic flip flops? I’ve been looking all over the place and I just can’t find any! I’ve found one or two pair at the mall, but they were, of course, ridiculously expensive. I just need a cheap pair of black ones and a cheap pair of brown ones!

Maybe I can look around in Atlanta….or Alabama this week…

Yesterday was so packed I really feel like it spanned two days, not one. Ever have those days?

I was up at 6:30 getting ready for work, having breakfast and all that jazz. I only worked until 1, but it was a pretty packed few hours. There was a lot going on to keep me busy.

After I left work I had to rush through Target to pick up some things that had to be bought before I left town and then I sprinted through a quick meal at home and hit the road.

Joshua (my nephew–almost 1 yr) was at Mom’s so I went straight there. I had meant to visit everyone yesterday, but I ended up at Mom’s until 11. We had Joshua and one of Roger’s grandchildren for a few hours. I wore Joshua out and then he napped on me for a while. Not too long after, Jessica and Rocky Joe brought Jessalyn over so I was dirty, soaked, and exhausted pretty quickly. If I spent like three days a week with the babies I’d never have a need for diet pills. Jessalyn is almost two now, so of course she’s into running back and forth into everything and testing limits. She’s still a little sweetie though!

We almost had Joshua really walking! He walked a respectable little bit on his own, but we didn’t have room to get him to really walk far. I think he’ll walk within the next week or so if they keep trying.

I miss the babies already, but my back certainly doesn’t!