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
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!
Late last night, Ryan’s work schedule for the week changed and it was decided that he’d take my car to Jacksonville today. Well, they changed again in a way that had he taken my car, he’d have driven to Jacksonville, picked up a truck, left for Orlando to pick up equipment, stopped in Jacksonville to get my car, drove that back to Valdosta with someone following him to take him back to Jacksonville etc, etc….Well that just didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me so I just said I’d drop him off. He wasn’t terribly keen on the idea since he was trying really hard not to inconvenience me, but it just seemed too illogical to me for him to do all of that extra driving just to save my day off. So we got up and headed out this morning to make it to Jacksonville by lunch. I meant to grab some food before I hit the road again, but I got so freaked in traffic I just forgot until it was too late.
I made it home, starving, but instead of coming home to eat I went ahead to run my errands for the day. I knew once I got home it’d be unlikely I’d go anywhere else. So I hit the mall to pick up a Ruby Tuesday gift card for Daddy and to get some more Wallflowers for Mom–I haven’t seen her since before Mother’s Day so I’ve been putting off that purchase. I got lucky to find that not only were they on sale–2 for $20, but they’re also in the middle of their big summer clearance. They’ve got a ton of older scents at 75% off, making them $3.12 each! So I started rifling through those and found Gardenia! Gardenia has been Mom’s favorite and they discontinued it after the first one I got her so I was excited to see their excess stock out for this sale, and at only $3.12 each, well, I had to buy her 5 She’ll be covered for the rest of the year. Now I’m really thinking I might go back and get some for myself. They had some of the wall units for 50% off, so they’re only $6. I’d love to have something like that in the apt.
Anyway I did some perusing for new flip flops with no luck and grabbed some Subway before heading back this way. I think I’m done with outings for the day, unless I decide to suck it up and go ahead and hit Wal Mart tonight.
I’m not done being productive though; I’ve got some cleaning I want to get done and after laundry, I think I’m gonna get Ryan’s stuff together for him for this weekend. He was complaining earlier about how he needs to go find his bag and actually get it organized so I think I’m gonna do that for him and just leave it waiting for him when he stops by tomorrow.
I’m multi-tasking right now too, watching an episode of Popular, checking out some diet pills reviews, and eating ice cream…..though I guess that might be more considered as counterproductive! My bad!
I finally got off my arse and got my hair cut yesterday. There are a couple of new places that just opened in the same little area. One of them offers a basic adult cut for $6. I thought that’s where I went.
Of course not! I went in and she washed my hair, cut it, put a little extra effort into it. I just wanted a blunt cut, but she ended up doing a little layering for me. Even blow-dried and styled it. It turned out really cute! But it came at a price. 20 bucks!
I hadn’t budgeted for that! And of course, she did such a great job I wanted to tip. I gave her $3. Is that an appropriate tip for a $20 job? I really have no idea!
I dunno…I’m happy with the cut and the service, but I didn’t really see any prices up front. It was really slow at the moment so I sort of got the impression that maybe she was doing all the extra because she wasn’t busy….If $20 is the normal fee for just a quick cut then wow….they’re overcharging for this area, and if that $20 included extra fees for the washing, drying, & styling, then she really should’ve asked if I wanted those things for the extra fee. I mean, I had just finished drying my hair before I walked out the door and I was planning on just pulling it back so the styling wasn’t needed either.
I’ve got their business cards so I’m thinking of writing for a pricing list. I’d like to go back in the future, they offer a lot of other salon services like tanning and acne treatments, but when that time comes, I’d like to know upfront how much I’m paying and what that’s covering.
I think I’ve decided against going to Milwaukee, as previously discussed. It’s somewhat doable, but it’d be a solid financial burden that I’d be bringing on myself. Everyone else working on this trip has a backup–either they’re still financially supported by their folks, or they’re at least in an easy position to turn to them if they need help. I’m not. Not that my parents wouldn’t help me, I can’t just expect that either of them would be capable of helping me without putting a strain on their own assets. Bottom line, I’m just not comfortable with taking the risk.
Now, Kristi is still waiting on Katie to check into some things, and if they fall into some amazing flight deals, and can really help me out, well, then I’m not against the trip. I guess I’m saying I’m not trying to talk myself out of it because it’d be an anxiety-causing new experience for me, I just think I’m kidding myself if I think I can really afford to do this…responsibly.
So I got sick earlier today…I have no idea why and I seem to be pretty much over it now for the most part.
Combine that sickness for the completely irrational anxiety when it comes to taking ‘long’ drives on my own and here I am at home instead of getting ready to watch Lifehouse perform in Jacksonville.
When I get insured again, I really think I wanna talk to a doctor about finding some anxiety meds I can take when I need/want to take trips like this. It’s really holding me back and I hate that! I wanna save up for a good gps system too since part of that anxiety is in regards to getting lost.
I went ebay-ing to make myself feel a little better. I found a lot of cute comforter sets but I talked myself out of them in favor for some cheaper impulse buys. I bought a few pairs of earrings for myself–dinosaurs, grenades, wrenches and pistols, all cute little studs and some little witches on broomsticks for my mom. I favorited the seller so I can go back and buy a bunch more. I think there were like 11 more pairs I really wanted to get. I love weird earrings.
Now I think I’m gonna study Spanish and just keep my mind off the concert I’m missing.
Mhmm…it’s concert time! I’ll be seeing Lifehouse in Atlanta on April 12th and then in Jacksonville on April 14th. Oh what a weekend it will be!
We’re having a little Lifeho union/reunion in Atlanta and I can’t wait!! (Read: If you haven’t been around long enough to know what a Lifeho is, well, it’s not derogatory, it’s just a nickname, kthnx.)
I’ll be reuniting with Kristi, Katie and Trinity, and finally meeting Dara and Cayte. [Yes, that’s right Dara, we’ll get this all sorted out and you will be present and accounted for. Feeny demands it.] There will probably be others when the time gets closer and there are others already confirmed, but these are my fellow Lifehos that I’ve ‘known’ for umm…ever sounds good. That’s what it feels like anyway.
It’s all coming together pretty quickly now that I officially paid for my ticket! We’ve even got hotel arrangements covered and preliminary mastication plans! Of course, our hotel is nothing like the hotels Las Vegas has to offer, but we’re going to watch rock stars, we have no need to party like them in the hotel. Just somewhere to sleep and shower without getting diseases…that’s pretty much the extent of my requirements haha–besides, it’s only half a mile from the venue and that’s perfection! Half a mile is less than what I walk to classes every day–I’m set!
I’m gonna see if Mom and Roger will let me borrow the Garmin again for that weekend just so I definitely won’t have to worry about getting lost. I’d hate to let driving anxiety ruin my weekend. That’d tick me off.
And since this is the “Disarray” tour, here’s Disarray for your enjoyment…and mine. =)
So Keri and I both got fliers in the mail for Baytree Automall here in Valdosta. They’re having a big promotion where you can win an iPod Shuffle, a $25 gift card to Wal-Mart, Target, or Best Buy, or a new Truck. As far as the odds listed, you were pretty much guaranteed at least a gift card, which is all I wanted!
So we go up there and wait around only to find out we have to have the envelope that the flier came in to qualify. Excuse me? The flier itself only says to bring ‘this flier and key’ with you [there was a little generic key attached]. Why would anyone bother bringing the envelope? The girl there said it was required to match the address on the envelope with the address on your license (or something else to verify.) It was funny because there were a ton of other people waiting around when we asked aloud to verify that we needed the envelope and everyone got up and walked out. As we were walking out I told one of the guys right outside about it and said they might want to add that to their flier next time since the flier just said to bring the flier itself and the girl just told us we had to have the envelope as well. I heard him say to one of the other guys, “I don’t know who the hell told her that…” referring to the employee there and then he sort of stormed back inside. Wonder what lovely things he had to say…
Talk about stupid. Let’s have a promotion to bring people in and not tell them everything they need to bring with them. Let’s make it necessary that they bring the envelope that our announcement came in, when most people immediately discard envelopes….Worse than some of the discount furniture sales here in town where they literally have 3 pieces of furniture that are on clearance and the rest of their stock is full price. *blank stare*
So then we went to Wal-Mart, our original destination, to see about Keri’s tires. Her dad got a letter in the mail about a recall on her tires, so she was looking to get that taken care of. There we’re told by an idiotic employee, and verified by her idiotic manager that they need the paper that came in the mail before they can do anything….*blank stare* Do you not carry a list of recalled tires? Can you not just match up the tires on her car with the tires on that list and take care of this? Seriously. How can you even consciously let someone drive away in a vehicle with recalled tires?
So that’s twice in one day that we’ve dealt with some overly stupid technicality. I hate when companies set something up to be against logic.
Ryan’s gig this weekend was/is a party at the Ritz. So earlier tonight I got a quick call that he was checking into his free room at the Ritz. Rar! I want!
Our call got cut off and an hour later he calls to inform me that they messed the reservation up, so he ended up in a suite!
Next up was a text message that he was getting free drinks at the bar ’cause the bartender thinks he looks like Tom Cruise! I’ll smackabitch….*ahem* but moving on, the next time he called I was like, “What? Are you eating freakin’ lobster now?” “No, but I had crab earlier. Now I’m eating free chocolate cake!” Apparently this is like a $19 slice of chocolate cake. I’m getting jealous. I’m about ready to hop in my car and head to Florida, dammit!.
In other news–I had a lot of fun last night! We ended up playing Scene It and the femmes totally dominated. I found SO much joy in Patrick asking us a question about a composer who won X amount of awards in a certain period of time. He said we’d never get it. I can’t even explain the look of shock on his face when I looked at him and said Randy Newman. “What?!!” Haha oh man…I’ll never forget that. That was my shining moment last night, haha.
I finally got to experience GH3–oddly enough, I think I understand it better than my boyfriend/roommate/neighbors, even though they’ve played for hours and I’ve played one song…
I’ve decided I need to brush up my DDR skills so next time we hang out, I can actually face Nick. I just haven’t played in so long and I wasn’t all that great to begin with. Didn’t wanna let Nick down. He really wants a worthy adversary. Maybe I’ll work on that and shed a few pounds in the process.
It was great to hang out with Jamey too. He gave in and got drunk–I only brought enough alcohol to get a good buzz for a while, so I was sober by the time we were getting ready to head home, so I gave Jamey a ride and we went to Waffle House. I think I ended up getting home after 4.
It was a great night though. It’s been a while since I laughed so hard my face actually hurt, but I did a lot of that last night. I can’t wait to do it all again.
I was so good today. SO freakin good. After class this morning, Ryan and I went to Tallahassee with a few of his friends so they could go to this um….card shop–the subject of which shall remain nameless for my own ego.
Anyway, we spent a significant amount of time in two malls. I paid for my supper, I bought a drink, and I spend $6 in a candy shop on some chocolate covered caramels and rock candy. The end. We hit this one shop that had so many pretties! Jewelry-wise and just cool stuff in general. I wanted to buy things. Lots of things that I did not need. I got lucky though–I found a really cute claddagh necklace I really liked, and at some point Ryan snuck back and bought it for me. [Okay, so he didn’t do a very good job of sneaking, ’cause I totally knew what happened, but ya know…] Anyway, yay for presents!
I like shoes, but I like really comfy shoes, not like, heels and overly cute stuff…anyway, I found about 15 pairs tonight that I was prepared to buy. I’m still not really sure how I managed to talk myself out of them.
I found a nice little stack of books I wanted to pick up too, but I thought it over and convinced myself that if I really wanted them, I could get them here in town. I’m proud of myself for that one!
We found a shop too, that sold personalized pens, pencils, mugs, cosmetic mirrors, etc–all that kind of stuff. Oddly enough, they actually had “Jade”! I never find my name on stuff unless it’s the stone or the color. I wish I hadn’t talked myself out of getting the pens. They were a little overpriced, but the only pens that don’t get stolen at work are the ones with my name on them. Maybe I’ll work in a trip to the mall when I go back for the Lifehouse concert.
I’ll admit that the first mall stop made me pretty grumpy. I spent a lot of time walking around by myself, not spending any money or really getting into any of the stores. Then when I thought Ryan was done, we set off to go elsewhere and he ended up just going back to the card shop so I walked around with two of his friends. Not what I had in mind when he talked me into coming so he could spend time with me.
I got over it though. The card shop is what we truly went for, and we were alone together for the whole ride and we all stuck together at the second mall.
I almost feel like a failure as a woman for turning away from so many shoes today.
Recent Comments