To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

The memory of the dream has faded some, but it's still there. I woke this morning to a dream about a show. I have no idea how I got there, but it felt like I had stumbled upon the show before it happened, and before it was too crowded, apparently. Switchfoot. I was at the barricade, waiting for Switchfoot, and it was getting crowded quickly. I realized that I had no camera. Okay, so if you know me, that won't do. I was going into camera withdrawals even in my dream. I called my mom to try and get her to bring my camera to me. The call went to a wrong number. I tried again, and it went to a wrong number, but I knew I was dialing correctly. Finally after a number of tries I reached my mom. I wanted her to please bring the camera and went to great lengths to tell her exactly where it was. I remember wondering how I would meet her to get it, but somehow I ended up with it. Now, I don't actually recall seeing my mom. And I haven't lived with my mom in years, for that matter. But she brought my imaginary camera in this imaginary scenario. Jon Foreman came on stage. Supposedly it was Switchfoot, but I only recall seeing Jon. He came out playing a song on the sax. Now, in reality, I had now idea he played the sax. LOL Maybe he doesn't know it yet either. ;) Then, I couldn't get the camera to work. I would push the shutter button and nothing. IT wouldn't take a photo. I aimed it towards the ground once, and then it snapped.. great, a photo of nothing. I would try to take a photo of Mr. Foreman, and it just refused. A stubborn thing, that camera. Then the stage crew was setting up for some sort of message song to get some sort of action. I can't recall the issue exactly at this point in time. But Jon needed some thread or ribbon or something. I went to me car to get it and somehow made it back, but then forgot what I went to the car for (a bit of realism in that part of the story. LOL) Then I figured out something that would work. Then the song started, and the guy involved with the issue was in a chair, and the rope was twisted at the side.. not exacly what I provided, but it somehow must have magically evolved. Dreams are like that... they magically evolve. Then when Jon sang, he held my hand part of the time. And then I woke up. Just for the record - I love Jon and all, but I don't live to hold his hand. I wouldn't want to freak him out or anything. I actually don't dream about musicians that much. Just a few times, and two of the 4 that I can remember were about missing something that was upcoming. Anyway, that's my story, my long twisted story about a musician, a ribbon, a broken camera and a show. The show must go on... even if my camera doesn't work. The end.

Thoughts before I drift off to sleep...

*Today I met some amazing people. The dad and kids from Boise, Grandmother and grandchildren from Paige, Mom and daughter from Montana who came because the daughter worked hard all year and made it to the top of her class (congrats!), the girl standing next to me for most of the concert who got so excited when Adam came onstage, and jumped up and down screaming when she got a guitar pick after the show, the young lady who came with her friends that I tracked down napkins for before the show started, and the kind woman who helped get security for me when I nearly passed out.

It was a long, hot day, and an interesting night at In the Venue. I was there to see Unwed Sailor, Mat Kearney and Owl City. I was pretty excited about seeing Adam headlining as so far, I'd only caught two of his concerts opening for other people and I'd heard that his headlining show was much better and very good. I was also excited because I was hoping to finally meet Tyler Burkhum (even if it only ended up being a "hello" from the stage) and I was just happy to be there.

After a long wait (from 11:21 a.m. to a bit after 6 p.m.) the doors opened, and I made my way to the front of the barricade. I dearly hoped it would not the the usual "can of sardines" that often happens at shows since there were a lot of younger kids at the show. I secured my spot just a tad closer to center than normal, but a little to the left. Diana was next to me, and I'm sure I chatted her ear off. I do that sometimes. The venue was playing rap music, and having battled a headache a lot of the day, it wasn't helping. But I tried to make the best of it.

I spent some time trying to get my camera to take a photo that wasn't fuzzy. The lens clouded up on the outside in the heat. Finally after what seemed an eternity, the show started and Unwed Sailor took to the stage. They were musically very sound, although it took me a little getting used to the fact that were no vocals.


After Unwed Sailor, there was another wait that seemed to drag on while the stage was set for Mat Kearney. Once Tyler came onstage, I tried to take a few photos and had to work on getting a sharp pic again, and finally succeeded after too many tries. Then it was time for Mat to perform. I eyed the set list, being a fan adding to my set list collection, and tried to get a photo with enough depth of field to get a sneak peak. I managed to read all but part of two songs on the set list. LOL Nothing Left to Lose was the second song. Then it was time for Mat to sing, and I have to say that I really love his voice, and Tyler and Mat's voices are an awesome compliment to one another. A few times they tried to do some moves on stage and it would seem they weren't quite together and then they would laugh, and it was hard not to laugh along. Mat's 9 song set seemed to go by very quickly.



After Mat finished playing, my lower back was really hurting and I tried to squat down for a minute. I stood back up, changed camera batteries, etc. There was a long set up/break time, but about 9:05 or thereabouts, Owl City took to the stage. The lights were blinding. LOL But they were cool, also. The music was awesome, and Adam was a lot of fun. I had to admit that Owl City as a headliner is pretty amazing and Adam is so very talented. Just about the time Adam started to play Fireflies, I started to feel queasy. I had felt a little queasy the day before, but it passed before I left for work, so I didn't think much of it. I wondered if the bit of nausea I felt was related. I started sweating a lot. I didn't think I was that hot, as we weren't all crammed together, and I really did have some air. Still I thought I'd better sit down. I felt okay sitting down. About half way through the song, I really wanted to see, so I stood back up probably too quickly, and got very light headed. I stood up a few and then sat back down. This happened one more time and I thought I was going to pass out or be ill, so I sat down again. After a couple more songs the nausea got kinda bad, and I couldn't stand up, so I tried to get someone's attention for help. Eventually, security came and carried me out. Adam started playing Deer in the Headlights (which I wanted to hear "dearly") as I was taken outside, and lay down on the concrete steps. A few minutes later, I felt tired, but fine. The venue's medical person checked my pulse, I took the water and went to the side door to watch the rest of the show.



Apparently while I was being carried out, Adam dedicated the song to me. LOL I missed the dedication. He called me a girl. I don't normally get great thrills out of touching musicians, but I thought maybe I should kiss him? ;) Friends came down from the balcony and wanted to know if I was okay. I felt bad that they left their good spot to check on my. And I hope I didn't mess up Diana's enjoyment of the show.

Still - even with my grand exit, it was a fun show and good evening overall. I wouldn't mind doing the two or three songs over that I was sick, but the rest was great.

Afterwords I went to the merch table, then went back and talked to one of the venue guys I know and bought a Gatorade from him. Then I left the building and hung about with people at the buses to kill time so I could make sure I was safe to drive home. I met Daniel who was the Owl City drummer and connected with Derek whom I had met a few times when he worked with Relient K. And I talked a while to the Mom and daughter from Montana. I waited while they walked to their car with one of the security guys, and I chatted a few minutes before I headed off the two blocks to my own vehicle. I used the remote start - my new toy - just for the heck of it.

The drive was uneventful except for a police officer pulling someone over, I stopped at my P.O. Box, came home, showered, ate some garlic spring rolls and half a bowl of cereal, took a shower, and came downstairs to edit and upload pics.

And now, I should probably sleep. Good night.

*(Posted on Facebook a few days ago - the show was on July 13.)

Yes, it snowed here today. So I took photos. What else? LOL on Twitpic

Yes, it snowed here today. So I took photos. What else? LOL on Twitpic

Reflections, Pt. II

I only woke up once or twice after I went to sleep. I'd be up a short while and then drift back to sleep again. It's unusual for me to sleep a full and uninterrupted 8 hours anymore, but I had a pretty good night's sleep Thanksgiving evening - something to be really thankful for. I had a lot of time to kill, but also some things I wanted to do and see. It was Black Friday, and there was a huge mall a few blocks away. I was anxious to go, and a little concerned that it would be really crowded. I figured I could always come back if it was too crazy. I think I took a shower, blow-dried my hair, and went to the second floor of The Tazewell to get some breakfast. Or did I get breakfast first? There wasn't really a lot available for breakfast on my usual diet, but I did have a bagel and some oatmeal. I tried to toast the bagel - emphasis on the word tried. In other words, I burnt the bagel. It didn't look like it was burning, but it was cooking rather unevenly and some of it was quite black. I decided to just have an untoasted bagel. It was safer that way. At least no smoke alarms went off.

After breakfast, I was able to get the key to the computer room, check my facebook for messages and post an update. The computer was exceedingly slow for the most part, and I had to chuckle a bit at the fact that there was a floppy disk drive. At some point (before or after breakfast, I can't recall for certain) I took a photo of the toaster. (I'm guessing before breakfast since the toaster has a bagel in it in the photo. LOL) The toaster had an appearance of age, and the timer was a dial. The Tazewell was a lot like that - things with an appearance of age, but still somewhat anachronistic. I didn't use the flash at all for my toaster photo, and I must have looked pretty silly trying different exposures and angles to get enough light and still have a somewhat sharp photo. I'm pretty sure a few people thought I was rather weird. I guess I never claimed to be normal.

After breakfast, I decided to make an attempt to walk to the mall. I knew the general direction, and so I just headed out. Along the way, I saw a Starbucks and stopped for a Vanilla Rooibos Tea latte (with Soy.) I usually don't want all the sugars in that thing, but I will get it for a special treat now and again. I reasoned that this was a good occasion for a treat. I also reasoned that I was a little cold and something hot to drink was an excellent idea. While in Starbucks, I asked direction to the mall and was given a little shortcut throught the building across the street. While I was waiting for my drink, I noticed a flyer for The River James. I had to take a photo as this is Jacob's (Mae's drummer) new band and I was pretty excited to see it there, and a little sad that I wouldn't be around on Dec. 14 to see it.

Once I had my tea in hand, I headed for the mall. I wandered about and took a couple of photos on the way to the mall and in the mall. The city of Norfolk has oddly painted mermaid sculptures all about. I wondered if every area had it's "ugly" sculptures. We have bison.

I also decided at some point to hunt for some black jeans that fit since I'd been wanting some. Most stores had some sales until at least 11 a.m. and it wasn't 11 a.m. yet. It wasn't quite as crowded as I expected, not deserted, of course and it was a pretty large mall) so it was nice to not be overwhelmed. I bought a small stamp pad set for a discount at Sanrio, then spotted a Toys R Us Express (I think that is what it was called) and found a couple of adorable dolls for my granddaughters for a great price. Of course, I had no idea where I would put the dolls to transport them back, but they were adorable, and I had a Toys' R Us giftcard that covered most of it. At some point I went to Barnes and Noble. I picked up two books, Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton and The Soloist. I could read later if I wanted something to do.




Then I wandered a bit more. I saw this amazing lamp that was on a huge tripod and tried to take photos. I was having a difficult time getting a sharp shot (no flash) and I had a nice little banter with the salesman who let me photograph it from inside the store. The price tag definitely was enough to give most people a little sticker shock, but since it seemed like a rather upscale furniture dealer, it wasn't too surprising.


Then I headed off and stopped to take a few more photos. I was just about to attempt a photo of the fun lights one floor above me and a security gal stopped me and said I wasn't allowed to take photos. Then she spent an inordinate amount of time trying to find a business office card even though I tried to tell her it was okay I would just put the camera away. LOL I was a little bummed, but it wasn't that big of a deal.

So, I set about in earnest to find the jeans I'd been looking for. I wasn't having much luck, although I did find a few things on sale at Charlotte Russe that I purchased. I stopped at one store that was awesome as far as having petite sizes for my short self, and they had some great clearance prices, just not black in my size. I did try something on there, but it didn't work out. Mostly I was finding black jeans were all "skinny" at the bottom and I needed boot cut jeans. I was referred to Forever Young's huge store on the first floor, and the jeans were all skinny jeans. I tried a pair on, but they were really long, and they just bunched up at the bottom and looked pretty strange on me. I did manage to get a couple pair of comfortable stretchy pants for $5 off their clearance rack.

After Forever Young, I went up to check out the movie theater on the third floor. Most of the third level consisted of the theater, and a food court. There was also a Chili's. After a while, I decided to have lunch in the food court and head back to the hotel. The plan was to come back to the theater later, see the movie Red, and have dinner at Chili's.

When I got back to the hotel, I read a bit, got back on the hotel computer, and killed time until it was time to head out to have dinner and see the movie. I ordered a Salmon dinner from Chili's and it was quite good and satisfying. :) Then I bought a ticket and went inside the theater. I had seen a trailer for Red online some time before it came out, and I liked the cast. For some reason I didn't get that it was a comedy, so that was rather a surprise. It was a little cheesy in places, but there was a lot of action - shooting, blowing things up, etc., so it wasn't dull and it was enjoyable enough. Besides, how can one go wrong with Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman?

After the movie I went back to the hotel and waited. It didn't seem all that long before Stephanie arrived, and I was actually expecting her a little later. I was kind of glad she came earlier than I expected. She said they were all next door (other Mae fans, and Zach from the band with his fiance) so we got ready and headed over to the Irish pub. Zach seemed really tired, so he didn't stay long, but I did have a chance to talk to his fiance for a bit before they left. She was such a sweet person. :) I was the only one not imbibing, so to speak, so that was a bit awkward at times. Everyone was pretty "happy" by the time we left. I ordered a soda (the only thing they really had besides water) and wasn't charged for it. I guess they give free soda to "designated drivers". In this case, I guess I was the designated walker since we were all just heading for the hotel. I was tired by the time we left. Stephanie was pretty exhausted, which was understandable, having driven from Ohio!

We chatted a bit and got ready for bed. Tomorrow was a big day. :)

End, pt. II

Reflections from the end of 2010

2010 has come and gone, at least in the here and now. In my mind, I haven't totally grasped the concept. The last few months of 2010 were a whirlwind, followed by a huge lull, exhaustion and finds me struggling somewhat successfully with a lack of motivation. I think my theme is forever tied to a Dicken's line (it was the best of times, it was the worst of times) as that is usually how it feels to me. To be honest, I have been beyond blest.

Back in November, I pondered the idea of making a trip to Virginia to see Mae's last U.S. show. I have had an online friend for sometime, who is also a big fan of Mae's, and she was driving from Ohio to the show. We had bantered back and forth on a few occasions about meeting at the Norva to see Mae play a home show, but always it was "someday". Someday came and I was forced to choose - to give up the idea entirely, and let it go, or head out to Virginia. I started looking up airline flights and was discouraged by the cost. I didn't really think I'd be going, but kept checking. I set up a test - if I could find a ticket for $250, I'd go. After a week or two, I found a ticket for $270 and tried to decide. I went back and forth for more than an hour. My memory suggests that I bought the ticket in the wee hours, but it must have been later in the a.m. or afternoon as I was called back to work shortly after I booked the flight. The cost of the tickets came up at $250, although by the time taxes and fees were added the total cost came to $312. I didn't even have a ticket to the show yet. I didn't have a place to stay. I could write an entire blog on how nothing about this trip was planned out in advance (as I normally would plan trips like this out and never book a room or flight without a ticket in hand) and how everything did in fact work out. One wrinkle in the plan was that I had to leave on Thanksgiving Day in order to get the great flight price. So I did plan Thanksgiving a Day early. My family was pretty understanding, or if they weren't, they didn't let on.

I was pretty much flying by the seat of my pants, so to speak, and I must say, just a little nervous about it. At the same time, I was really excited to meet Stephanie. I also contacted friends who live about an hour from Norfolk (where the venue is) and hoped to be able to visit with them. I was rather excited about that as well. :)

Between working, planning to attend several concerts, and work the concert on the
18th, and watching my granddaughter, most of November is a blur. November went by slowly and far too quickly all at once.

Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, my daughter, and her boyfriend, my granddaughter, and my husband and I had a nice turkey dinner with lots of trimmings. It was really odd to log into facebook with everyone talking about what they would be doing for Thanksgiving the next day after everyone had gone home, since truly seemed like Wednesday was the holiday and Thanksgiving had concluded.

But everything did work out from Thanksgiving dinner, cleaning up after, packing, transportation arrangements, and places to stay, sometimes last minute, but it all worked out perfectly.
My itinerary to Norfolk had one stopover, and both the flight from Salt Lake to Atlanta, and the flight from Atlanta to Norfolk left late, but arrived 10 minutes ahead of schedule. I was quite concerned about any delays since the flights were timed pretty close together. An although, it was a bit of a hike from one terminal to the other, I made it in time to use the restroom and grab a sandwich.

I was able to stay at a hotel very near the concert venue on Thanksgiving, and there was even a place across the street open where I could have a grilled chicken sandwich. The service wasn't too good, but at least I had dinner. There Tazewell was also near a huge 3 story mall and within walking distance was a nautical museum and the USS Wisconsin, so there was a lot to do for the 3 days I was to be in Norfolk. I still had no idea where I was staying for certain since I hadn't heard back with confirmation from my friends yet.

So I made it to Norfolk in one piece without a hitch, with a room ready and waiting. The transportation I arranged in advance was simple and everything went smoothly getting to the hotel. The hotel staff was amazing and very accomodating.
I asked about an internet cafe, and it turned out they had a business center which was basically a small room with a computer. The computer was not terribly speedy and I had to laugh because it actually had a floppy drive. I still have floppy disks, but I haven't seen a floppy drive in a while. The hotel definitely was older, but also very nice. My room was on the 4th floor, and the elevater doors were mirrors, so you had to look twice to see it was the elevator. It was also quite tiny.







It was Thursday, I would be alone until late Friday night. IT was eerily quiet, but I was completely exhausted since I had almost no sleep before my journey. I took photos of the room, from the room, and self portraits in the mirror, had dinner across the street, worked a few crosswords, turned on the television; and went to sleep really early. The bed was very comfortable.





End, pt. 1

I'm reading C.S. Lewis quotes. This one grabbed my attention:

"Atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning..."
— C.S. Lewis

But this is the one I was searching for:

"It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
— C.S. Lewis (Weight of Glory and Other Addresses)

And these also caught my attention:

"If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair."
— C.S. Lewis

"Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it."
— C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity)

I think I'll see if I can find my copy of Voyage of the Dawn Treader now.

Seeing Red and the Christmas Season Begins

November, 2010, was a busy time, although I admit some of the business was of my own making. There were a lot of concerts I really wanted to attend, but I was called back to work in October, and I hadn't been furloughed yet, and sometimes a girl does have to stay home once in a while. If time and money were no object, I would have certainly spend the first few weeks in November at a concert nearly every night sometimes more than one on the same night.

So, I found myself missing Circa Survive, Sara Bareilles, Lifehouse, and others that I would loved to have seen. I especially hated to miss Sara Bareilles on November
17, but I was working in catering/hospitality for the Red concert the following day, and I still had not been furloughed. I not so secretly hoped that I would be let go at the close of business on the 16th, but it wasn't to be. Instead, I was furloughed on the 17th, and was able to use leave to work only half the shift. This left me some time to prepare for Red. On the way home, I stopped at Wal Mart to pick up a few items I still needed to prepare the food. I also had to clean the kitchen thoroughly and make sure it was all ready. I fixed potatoes for potato salad, made huge fresh green salad and potato salad. I still had potato soup and chicken noodle soup to prepare. It was a long night, and I didn't make it to sleep until after 3:30 a.m. Somehow I managed to sqeeze in a full 3-1/2 hours of sleep before I had to finish up, load up the car and head for The Avalon to set up. I was running a bit late, but as frequently is the case, the timing all worked out and lunch was ready pretty much on time. I was still a little nervous about timing later in the day, though as I needed to leave around 3:30 p.m. to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra's 4 o'clock show. I had to leave, watch the show, drive back for the rest of the Red concert and hope not to miss too much and then help with clean-up, etc. It was enjoyable getting to meet everyone and make sure they were taken care of. Everyone I met on the tour was really nice and appreciative.


Soon, 3:30 came around and I took off to the Energy Solutions Arena to see TSO. This was the 5th or 6th time I have seen TSO's performance, but to me the Christmas season officially begins when TSO is here. I had a few small glitches getting to the venue, but made it in time. Once I got inside I found the merch vendor, purchased a program and then headed down to my Floor 3, Row 6 seat. Just as I was heading for the stairs, I saw a sign that said photography without flash was allowed. This was a first for TSO here, and since I'd been short on time I decided to leave my camera in the car. I tried, in vain to get permission run out to my car, but alas there was no re-entry allowed, so I ran down to my seat instead and sat down just as the show was starting. I really missed my camera, but I took a ton of bad cell phone pics, so at least I have something. As always, TSO was dazzling, moving, fun and beautiful all around. The first part of the show primarily centers around a storyline about a father praying for his girl to come home and an answer to that father's prayer. There is a portion where a bum sings and tells a part of the storyline. On the West coast tour, the bum is Bart Shatto, and he does an amazing job. He added a little humor in his portrayal this time and he did an moving and memorable job of the part. I always look forward to seeing him onstage.


The vocals were the best I've heard, and that's saying a lot. Then the story finally ends, and the concert continues with rock meeting the classical, and a light show complete with laser lights and fireworks. It's really impressive. The day after Thanksgiving used to mark the Christmas season for me. Now it is seeing Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Usually I attend the later show, and wait in line for the meet and greet after the show. I love telling Bart how much I loved his portrayal of the bum, teasing Angus, and always love meeting Tommy Farese. I really did miss that this year. I would have loved to have met the new narrator this year, Phillip Brandon, and tell him what a fantastic job he did.






Too soon the show came to an end and I ran out to where my car was parked. I didn't see my car at first so it took me a bit to find it, but then I headed out on the road. Traffic wasn't at all bad which really surprised me, and I was back at the Avalon just after Silverline's set. I hated to miss Silverline, but I could't be 2 places at once. I went to check on the hospitality area and everything was fine. While I was there I took a photo of one of the guys in Head in his "V" mask, because he said I could. Then he got so close to the camera I wasn't sure it would turn out well, but it did.

I was curious about the upstairs window overlooking the stage since I attend a lot of concerts at The Avalon. I asked about it and was told as long as no one was up there I could check it out for a little bit. Jay went up with me and we watched a bit of Brian Welch and Head from the window and took a few photos. Then I grabbed all of my camera gear and headed out towards the front. Security escorted me to the balcony which was awesome. I didn't really think I would like Head much, but I liked them better than I thought I would.




Disciple set up to play next and I really liked their set a lot. They prayed before the played, and were pretty upfront about their beliefs even doing an appeal for Compassion International child sponsorships.




After Disciple finished playing, it was time for Red to set up. I got a kick out of the fact that they taped things down with red tape. I had one of the best spots in the place and it felt odd, but wonderful. While there were no barricades, people were not right at the stage, so I had plenty of room to walk around and take photos. Oh, I still did plenty of clapping, cheering and moving to the music in between photo shots. The lighting was difficult because it rotated and changed so frequently and drastically, but I did get a few decent shots.




After Red completed their set(and after their Encore) I went back to work on cleaning up a bit, getting my things in order, and making myself a cup of hot tea while I was at it. There was a lot of left over potato salad, and some leftover green salad among other things. The soup disappeared long before. I started talking to one of the guys from Silverline and tried to help him out with something. I ended up talking to the Silverline guys a lot in the back of the venue and outside. I bought their cd and we got pics together.

Then I stopped goofing off and went back to work, counting and hunting down towels, sweeping the stage, and eventually loading my car. It was freezing outside so loading wasn't my favorite part. LOL While I was sweeping the stage, I pulled up some red tap to find an All Time Low Guitar pick (the played The Avalon on May 4.) There is a gal at work that loves All Time Low, so I think I will give it to her when I return to work.

Finally, Eleanor and I both drove out of the parking lot in our respective vehicles and headed for home. I was very, very tired, but the drive home went well over all, except for me stopping fast to avoid running a yellow light with a cop behind me. I was definitely ready for a good night's sleep and I would definitely do it over again.

God bless..
Melanie