Not just your "typical" day. Mute Math, Alanis Morisette, Matchbox 20

Wow, I just about had my whole adventure typed up and all of a sudden, it just vanished except one letter. I didn't do anything. :(

So, the shortened version is:

I worked until 3 a.m. (March 5th turning over into March 6), slept until about 10 a.m., was at work by 11 a.m., worked until 3 p.m., headed for the venue, but decided to stop at home. I got gas and headed out to the venue about 4:30 p.m. It took about an hour or so to get to the venue, and the trip went well. I spent time trying to find a way to get things to Mute Math, and was finally successful, although the doors had already been open a bit before it was mission accomplished.

I purchased a usb wrist band to get a copy of Matchbox 20's part of the concert. I got a ticket and was to pick it up after the show. It's a cool little invention, let me tell you.

I took my seat, chatted with the person in front of me and told them all about Mute Math. (He later got pretty excited when he recognized things I had described about their show had he loved them!) Then Mute Math took the stage and did the incredible as they always do, except the sound was phenomenal, and Paul sounded great! I took some pics -- not great pics, but I'm happy to have them!







Then I took a potty break and waited for Alanis. She was outstanding. I was really impressed with her voice, and her band was amazing. It was kinda fun to hear the whole arena singing Ironic, but I was a tad disappointed that she didn't sing more of it herself as well. The audience pretty much sang the first verse.




After Alanis set, I went up to see Mute Math and got to talk to them, get a couple of pics and a few hugs. I wanted hugs, but wasn't sure if they were into that sort of thing, but it just happened naturally. Paul seemed very happy to see me there, which made my day. I was able to hang about the table and chat and security didn't bother me about it, which was unusual. It was pretty cool.

I went down to watch Matchbox 20 in progress. I think they were about 3/4 through the first song when I reached my seat. They were actually quite good. There were a few slow spots, but overall not a bad concert. I had been told the first 20 minutes were the best part of the show, and I tend to agree, except there I did enjoy the encore and a few other highlights (like their cover of She Came in Through the Bathroom Window.) After the show, I got my wristband and dallied a bit talking to people including the gal who helped me find a way to get some things to the Mute Math guys. I thanked her lots. She talked about people who were lingerers. I told her I was probably one. She said she was thinking she should hand them trash bags, and I told her if she handed me one, I'd probably help. She said, "I know you would." LOL I liked her lots. LOL So, I went outside and chatted with another venue employee while I waited for traffic to die down. Then I headed for home.. a very happy camper.. er.. I mean concert goer. LOL







I can't wait for Mute Math to come back. I think they are going to be hanging about closer to home after the tour and be working on music, so that's pretty awesome as well.

Anyway, another great adventure comes to a close.

--Melanie

Start spreading the news....

Today was promote the bands day. On Wednesday, March 19, I am going to see Sherwood and We Shot the Moon, The Higher, Houston Calls and Allred. It should be a great show! I've never been to the venue before, also known as "The Circuit" so I have no idea what to expect there. I ran in to Allred's manager at the Angels and Airwaves concert and told him I'd put a few up at the local Graywhales, also known as, a small area chain of cd/games/video exchanges.

On April 4, I have a ticket to see Mae w/ the Honorary Title, Between the Trees and Far Less. I have been a big fan of Mae's since about 2005. The first time I saw them it was in May. I loved the sound of saying that I was going to see Mae in May.
I volunteered to promote the concert. As a result, I will be on the guest list, although I have a ticket already. I do this for love, ya know. I had hoped to have flyers to hand out at the Angels & Airwaves concert on March 4 and the Matchbox 20 concert on March 6, but some of the posters arrived just after I left for the show with another envelope of posters and stickers arriving the following day. In one of the envelopes were the instructions. I gave some thought as to timing and decided that Saturday would be my best shot at getting things up. So today, I printed venue, date, time, etc. and affixed them to the posters and set out on the road. IT was a very long, but very productive day.

First stop wasn't far. I just went up the street and around the corner to a small coffee shop I'd been wanting to check out called Bikini Coffee. It was actually a nice little shop and I was able to order a Peach Italian Soda without the cream and it was quite good. They I asked if I could put up concert posters and was given permission. I could barely reach enough to put them up, however. Yes, I am vertically challenged. I should just take a portable stool with me next time I try this. LOL




Then I headed out in ernest for Bountiful, Salt Lake City and Taylorsville.
In Bountiful I stopped at one of the Graywhales and it looked as though they knew
I was coming and cleared the way for my posters. That was so very kind of them. ;) I got permission to hang the posters, took a few pics, went over and looked at their new releases and headed off to the next site, although not before I left a few Mae stickers for their counter top.


I had seen another music/cd place called, Music to the Maxx, a few weeks earlier while meeting with friends at a restaurant in Bountiful, so I decided to check it out. I was so very glad I did! The young folks working there were extremely excited about Mae. I told them they were coming on April 4, and gave them information they could use to get their tickets. They said posters should be no problem and their manager loves that sort of thing. She wasn't available, but in the end, they put the posters up then and there so I could photograph them. LOL I also left them with stickers. I was now jazzed and ready to head out to stop number 3.



Stop No. 4 is a local/indie type cd shop in Salt Lake City known as Slowtrain. The young lady at the counter was extremely friendly and helpful. I asked about the posters and was granted permission to put them up, so of course, I put them up! LOL
I also left a few Mae stickers for the counter. While I was there I asked about Benton Paul's cd, as I had to miss his cd release party to see Mute Math, et al., and she listed it as being available through their store on March 18. I thanked her for all her help, took my photos and left for the next location.




I didn't really get enough Sherwood posters, so I stopped and made a few b&w 8-1/2x
11" copies and some small flyers made up to take along at Staples. The guy at the counter was really helpful, and I asked him if he ever went to concerts. He said as a matter of fact he did, so I told him about Mae on April 4. As it turns out he's a Mae fan, and he also commented on my Mae tee. I gave him a sticker and also left one of the Sherwood flyers with him. On the way out the door, I spotted a couple of interesting items in the clearance bin for 50 cents each and picked them up. After I paid for them, I gave the gal at the register a sticker, and also to a customer there and told them about the show.

I wasn't quite sure which direction to head next, but I ended up passing Wild Oats, so I turned around and went back. I stopped to see if they had any place for posters, but they really didn't. So, instead I gave stickers to a few people and told them about the show, made a quick purchase (soy sour cream substitute) and headed for Beans & Brews 906 S 500 E in Salt Lake City. There is another on S. State that I never managed to get to this time around. As it turns out, I found another Mae fan working the counter at Beans & Brews, so she was very excited to hear about the concert. I put up the posters, took a few pics, bought a muffin (ended up being 2 for 1 because it was after 4 p.m.) and headed for the next place on my list.


The Graywhale on 208 S 1300 E is rather close to the college. It looks almost as much like a house as a cd exchange, except for the large blue "Graywhale" on the exterier, and a cool looking sign with a dolphin out front. Parking on the street is limited, and I didn't see any. I had to fork over $2 to park behind the store.
I was able to get posters up there and take pics, although I had a bit of a time again being considerably shorter than the place they have designated for posters. I did manage, though. Again I left some stickers. (Is there a pattern here?)



My next plan was The Avalon and Bad Ass Coffee. I had thought it was one of the other places that closed at 7 p.m., but it turned out to be the coffee place, so I missed that one. On the way from Graywhale, I got turned around and went 31 long blocks out of the way, but I did finally arrive at the Avalon. I thought for sure it would be bustling with concert activity, but the place was pretty dead (seems rather unusual for a Saturday night.) I taped a poster up on their poster area (usually it looks like they use staples), and hoped that tape was o.k. I'm sure they won't mind the poster, just not sure they like the method I used to post it. Anyway, I took a photo of the poster, and then the theater with the area the poster was in, and one of the pics must not have really been taken at all. While I was posting I heard all these sirens going off, so my first thought was "uh oh, busted" but it obviously wasn't from the venue. LOL

I got back in my car and headed for my last stop of the night, Graywhale in Taylorsville. I was able to put up the posters, leave some stickers, purchase "The Maine's" ep for $4.99 and get the requisite photos.


By that time, it had been well over an hour that I had really needed a potty break badly, so I went over to Albertson's and used their facility. While I was there, I spotted a tea that I love and hadn't been able to find here for some time. I really love Bigelow's Decaf French Vanilla, and places at my end of town had pretty much stopped carrying the decaf version. I bought all three boxes at Albertson's. Then I ordered small #1 combo at Wendy's, ate my burger, and headed for home. It was a long but very productive night.

I only missed two locations on my list and if I have a chance I will catch them later. I still have some more local stops to make this week, but it should not be quite as much of an effort to get to them since they are closer to home.

So there you have it... the adventures of a wayward old lady acting like a teenager once again.

Love, peace and joyful poster hanging,
Melanie

More Ramblings...

New entries to my wanderous ramblings:

Thoughts --

floating in a sea
like trying to catch a fish
the line's too short
elusive, escaping thoughts
try to catch a thought as it floats along

profound thoughts
lost thoughts
found thoughts
unwound thoughts

Meandering thoughts
looking for trails and clues
trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Lost in a maze
I can see the end, but I can't quite get there

I'm so very tired now, I can't believe I haven't collapsed in a heap right here. Well, I did doze at my desk for about 20 minutes or more. Tonight I saw Mute Math, Alanis Morisette and Matchbox 20. Those who know me know that I am a huge fan of the band known as Mute Math, and the guys in it as well. :) I don't think I can think clearly enough to recount the whole night's events, but I will very soon.

I'm going to put the doggies in their crate while I sleep.... sleep, perchance to dream? :)

Hope everyone is well and has a good day. :)

Peace Out,
Melanie

Sneak Preview:

Taking a Risk

I started a little notepad "ideas" page last night and added a little bit today. I thought I'd be a little vulnerable and post what I have so far. It's really not anything serious yet. The first bit ended up being a little bit rhymy and maybe a tad cheesy, who knows. I will play with it for a while. LOL

It's raining outside and the torrent is carrying me
It's raining inside and these clouds are all I see
The clouds that envelope and surround this place
with memories only time will erase.

Rain, rain go away come again another day.
Children's rhymes are so cliche
But there's truth to them in a simple way.

Rain, rain you're all I see
You have such a hold on me
I'm longing for simplicity
It's time to let you go

I want to be an optimist today.
The glass isn't half empty, nor is it merely half full
Half is just a pit stop on the way to overflowing.
I wish I knew where this was going. ;) LOL

Lots to say, but nowhere to start...

There has been so very much going on lately, that I have no idea where to start. LOL

I'm back at work. This is a good thing, overall. I have to get out and live in the real world for a while, and the pay definitely doesn't hurt. Things have been a bit tight, but I'm still supporting my concert habit. Just when I think I'll cut back several of my favorites will come to town. I love it too much, I guess.

I'm very excited to see Mute Math this Thursday! I'm also excited to see Angels & Airwaves, The Color Fred and Meg and Dia on Tuesday, but I don't know them quite as well and we haven't met yet. LOL I've been listening to TCF's cd this week a little and I think I'll like Fred's set. The downside is no photo pass. I'll request one this weekend, if I can figure out who to ask. LOL But this Thursday, I get to see one of my very favorite bands open for Matchbox 20. Roy says they will be at the merch tables after Alanis' set, so I'm double excited to actually get to see them!!! I not only love their music, but I'm quite fond of them as well. I don't know if they'll understand why, but I did blog about that very issue once. And, I found out some really good/happy news for a certain someone in the band, so I'm way more excited than I probably should be. Again, the downside is the camera thing. I hope they at least allow point and shoots. I can usually photograph Mute Math, and I would so be excited to get to in some decent lighting for once, but it would have to go through Matchbox 20 this time. Anyone know how to contact them? I just want to take pics of Mute Math (not that I wouldn't love the opportunity to photograph the others, just MM is more important to me.)

This week I had to put in 46 hours so that I could go to the shows. I was sweating it for a bit as work is denying all leave until March 14. I finally got approval last night, so it's a huge relief!! I had to turn copies of my tickets and my receipts.

In addition to the 46 hours last Saturday I was up at 6 a.m. (after working until 1 a.m., getting home around 1:30 and staying up until 4 a.m. to prepare) to work at the Steven Curtis Chapman concert. It was a very long day, but one with some good memories. I really wish I could have met Steven, but I had the opportunity to meet his sons and I thought they were very nice indeed. There wasn't a lot of time to chat, but it was really a pleasure meeting them just the same. I worked in catering, so I helped set up and prepare food. I made a trash run once.

One thing I can say about this tour is that it cemented my impression of tour bus drivers. They continue to be some of the nicest people. I guess bands wouldn't want them around otherwise, I suppose. I talked to one of the bus drivers a bit during breakfast. We are both lactose intolerant and he was looking for something he could drink. We talked about Lactaid and Soy Milk, and he had a runner take him to the store a little later and came back with some Lactaid and said it was for me. LOL I thought that was really sweet! So, you know I had to have some with my lunch.

For the concert I purchased a reserved seat in the front row. Someone made an error and treated the seating in the VIP section as open for the first few rows. So, I had a little argument with the person in my seat to no avail. I spotted a seat between 2 couples dead center front row and finally gave up and sat there. I felt badly for the person that should have had that seat, though. Anyway, it was only the second time at that sort of venue for me, and overall things went well. Word has it that Steven and company were quite happy and want to come back, so that makes my day! He said they were treated like gold. That's how it should be.

After the show, I hung about outside the meet/greet for a few minutes, but only a few. I was sort of hoping to be able to go in but there was work to be done, so I was feeling I should help. It was good, though, because I got to talk to a few friends there, met Will Chapman and others. During the concert there was a collection to help offset expenses for an adopting family. I met them before the show and afterward they were in the catering area and I got them all drinks. I really enjoyed meeting them a lot and hope I can see them again sometime. They are a beautiful family. I managed to get some pics of them on the stage at the end of the show as well.

It was a very long day. I don't think I can remember being so very tired but it was worth it. So many good things happened. As usual, I have to struggle with my more selfish side of things sometimes which I always hate, but it's probably a good thing to work through this somehow.

As for the rest of my life, I have my days and nights totally swapped. I was up until after 7 a.m. and woke up around 3. It's 6:43 p.m. and I'm still at the computer in my nightgown. Don't get too excited, it's cutesy but that's all. ;? My feet are cold, but inertia has set in, so I've done nothing about it. The plan was to go to Olive Garden tonight with our gift card, but Ed has settled in for the day, so it's unlikely. As I thought about it, Sunday evening would be better as there are fewer crowds and Ed hates crowds. I love the OG, though. :) If I could eat there twice a day I'd be happy except I'd probably look more like a blimp than I already do.

Things are busy, but I just want to sit here a while. A nice warm shower sounds good. I think that's my next stop.

God's blessings,
Melanie

Steven Curtis Chapman, photo blog

It's late, so I will try to write about the Steven Curtis Chapman concert later, but for now, here are some photos from the evening:

Colbie Caillat

I rather enjoy Colbie Caillat's voice, so when I saw that she was going to be in Salt Lake City, I purchased a ticket. The show was scheduled for Dec. 19 and I was rather hoping I would be furloughed before the date. I had already used much of my leave on my trip to California, as I wasn't expecting to be at work in November. As it happened, I was furloughed on the 18th and breathed a huge sigh of relief. As I prepared for the day of the concert, I double-checked everything online to find out that Colbie was sick, and the show had been post-poned. So, I just prayed for a time when I wouldn't be working, and that it would NOT be on a Friday. The concert was rescheduled for Friday, Feb. 15. Lucky me. ;)

As things worked out, I was only called back to work on the 13th, and when I mentioned that I had plans for Friday, I was told I could start on the 19th. So I was free to enjoy the show without worry (although the extra couple of days of income would have been nice.) The biggest issue, then, turned out to be what time to head for the venue on a Friday to a general admission, sold out show. I figured after noon was probably o.k., although sometimes people start showing up quite early. Sometimes hardly anyone shows until an hour before the show. I showed up at 1 p.m. Most people didn't. For the bigger part of the day I talked to someone I recognize that works a lot of the shows, when he was available (which wasn't often), listened to my Zune, occasionally answered questions about the concert and stood around. The big excitement was when in a moment of complete grace, I knocked some sort of blue light tube onto the ground and shattered it. Had my parents had been a tad more sarcastic, they could have named me "Grace".

At any rate, I made it to the show, barely made the front row because they had about 40 or so people in a meet and greet that beat me to the stage, but I asked someone and they let me in next to them. Phew! It was a pretty good spot and pretty much right in front of Colbie.

The biggest and nicest surprise of the night was looking up at the stage and seeing Jacob Luttrell in front of the mike. Sometimes I get excited over little things. Jacob used to sing backup for Clay Aiken, and I'd met him several times before. He is living in Utah now (which I knew), and he was opening for Colbie (which I definitely didn't know.) He has a rather bluesy sound and a gorgeous voice. I really enjoyed his set quite a lot, and it was well received. After the show, I met him at the merch table, picked up his cd and chatted. He did remember me, which was kinda cool. He looked very happy and relaxed and was very gracious when the camera wasn't co-operating for a photo. LOL



After Jacob performed the next artist to take the stage was Trevor Hall. Trevor has rather a Jamaican sound to his songs, which made them a little different and very fun. Turns out he isn't from Jamaica at all, but from South Carolina. I was standing next to probably one of his biggest fans. Apparently Trevor's biggest fan and I weren't the only ones that enjoyed his set. He neglected to tell us who he was, so everyone was yelling at him to tell them. They all wanted to know. He really played off the crowd and seemed to enjoy himself. It didn't hurt that he was adorable. I also had an opportunity to talk to Trevor and Chris a bit and get photos. I bought a cd/ep set because he made me an offer I had a hard time refusing. :)




After Trevor played it was time for Colbie Caillat. As is quite often the case, the crowd couldn't wait and started chanting for Colbie. It really wasn't all that long before she came to the stage. I was really struck by how pretty she really is. Her online photos don't do her justice. She didn't talk a lot during her set, although she did a few times. It was most fun when she interacted with the band, which she did well. The band was funny a few times. I saw one of the guitarists (I think his name's Justin toss something at the keyboardist who tossed it at the drummer. It was pretty funny. I'm not sure how many people noticed. At any rate, Colbie has an absolutely beautiful voice, and it was rather nice to be listening to her sing withoug being shoved into the railing. A good portion of the crowd had probably never been to that particular venue. There were people of all ages there including children, so it's obvious she has a very broad appeal. I can see why. I never felt at all cheated by Colbie's set. Not only was her voice gorgeous, the set seemed to be just about right length-wise. I thought I missed my chance at the set list, but then noticed that someone there was still unclaimed and was able to persuade some nice member of the stage crew to hand it to me. I know there is at least one encore song (a duet with Jacob Luttrell) that is not listed, but I love having it as it helps me to remember. I'm always excited when I can get a set list. LOL






After the show, I went to the merch tables and pretty much headed for home. As I was getting into my car, I saw Tim Fagan, one of Colbies' guitarists, (or his Twin? LOL) walk past me. I started to say that I enjoyed his music, but he was making a cell call, so it didn't seem appropriate, so I got situated for the drive home and headed out.




It took a while to get home as the wonderful folks at UDOT had the road closed at Hwy. 89 with signs to take the Park Lane (or Ave, or something) detour. I have no idea where that detour is as I sure never saw it. I ended up on 89. Luckily I knew how to get back from there, but it was a bit longer route. I stopped and got gas for my trip to Vegas and spent pretty much all night trying to make my computer work so I could put up some pics.

I hope you enjoy them.

God's blessings,
One Tired Melanie

Local Talent, who knew?

James Belliston:

Spiral Diary:

Josh Rosenthal:

Benton Paul:

John Allred:


I just watched last night's American Idol through the magical and wonderful courtesy of DVR. I happen to notice that one of the better singer's was a 16 year old from Murray, UT. That's really not too far from here at all. So, thinking about our local talent scene, I am taken back to last Saturday night, February 9.

Saturday the plan was to head out to Sandy, UT (a hop, skip and a jump from Murray, pretty much) and attend John Allred's cd release party. I had received a note via myspace telling me that me and my camera were loved. Now how can you not go where you are loved? ;) At any rate, I was having second thoughts only because I wasn't feeling the best. I wasn't really sick, but I felt rather disconnected and spacey. However, I had said I was going to show so I figured I should. The drive out seemed inordinately long. I was paying attention the the road and traffic o.k., although I secretly hoped no one would do anything stupid right in front of me just in case. Gratefully no one did. I kept forgetting to pay attention to where I was, though, and I'm pretty happy that I did notice in time not to miss my exit. This time I found the Solid Ground Cafe pretty easily. Normally I'm at shows quite early. This time my camera and me arrived and I was there only a little more than a half hour before the show. I think there was another couple, but they didn't wait outside.
I had a nice visit with Rhet who lined up behind me about 23 mintues before things were to get going. Wow, he is a big Allred fan! We had a conversation about promoting bands, and who was up and coming. :)

Finally the doors opened, I purchased my ticket (and was asked who I had come for) and headed for a spot near the stage. I sat there for a minute or two and then took out some of my camera gear and began to figure out the lighting. The lighting at Solid Ground is interesting to say the least.The place began to slowly fill up and actually ended up being rather packed. It was good to see.

Then it was time for the show to start. There were five artists all playing acoustic sets. First up was James Belliston. I really enjoyed his set a bit and was impressed. I took pics as I usually do when allowed to. Spiral Diary (Dave) played next. As he finished setting up the stage, he brought out a disco ball and a couple of blue lights that he kept at the side of the stage. Then he jumped up and turned the light switch off with his guitar. So much for pics. I can do low light, but no light doesn't work well. I tried one with blue lights that was quite dark, and one with flash. Then I took out the point and shoot and took a few flash photos and put it away again. I took those just to have something. Dave's set was really good, and had I brought enough cash I would have purchased his cd, but I will be getting it soon. Next up was Josh Rosenthal. He started out singing a song he "wrote just last week" called Blackbird. And if you guessed it was the version of Blackbird that was originally performed by the Beatles, you get a gold star. I laughed. I did enjoy Josh's set. I've heard his EP, but he sounds much better live. He was also very personable onstage. After Josh played, it was time for Benton Paul to perform. Benton was also very personable on stage. At one point he called a couple of gals from the audience to come up and dance on stage and they did. It looked like they were having a great time. Benton had a very nice listening voice, and a great falsetto. I like falsetto, but it has to be good!

Finally it was time for John Allred to play. I took pictures and listened intently and it was good. :) John started off by having everyone sit down so everyone could see. It pretty much meant I wasn't going to be walking around taking pics. LOL At one point John turned out the lights by shimmying up the pole (wasn't quite ready for that one) and took a very bright, white, light bulb to the center of the room and played from there for a song. After the show, there was a clamour made for an encore, and there was indeed an encore. After giving due applause, I headed over to the merch table to by a cd or two, and ended up talking to Josh a bit and buying his ep. Then I went over and purchased John's new cd, "Parades".

I talked to a few people and left for home, making a brief pit stop at Wendy's.
I really enjoyed all of the artists and I'm so glad I went.

Peace out, Melanie

Luck

I've always been told that I have a lot of Irish in me somewhere. But if the Irish have luck, this week it's rather hiding and not really the best 'o' luck, so to speak. Sorry to be so cryptic. I'm an open book, but it involves other people, so I can't say much.

Anyway, sometimes Thiessen says things that just mean a lot, and I don't think he realizes it. LOL

I love this. Just had repeat it because I needed to hear it this week.

"There is no bad luck... just trials traveling in packs. When it rains it pours, but after it pours it stops.
Matty"

I think my umbrella is about to collapse with the weight of all that rain. So, it can stop now. LOL

Still with everything, I know there are people that are so much worse off than I.
I can't decide if that's a comfort or not. I'm not overall unhappy, if that's how it seems. Just a lot is going on.

God's blessings to ya!
--Melanie

P.S. I was in the car listening to Jason Morant (very much under recognized Christian artist, imho) and feeling a tad spacy. Anyway, just composed something in the car on the fly... don't know if anything will come of it. I can't believe I remembered it. LOL

Draw out my soul
Bring me to life again
Intertwine me with you
Make me whole.

Silver State Helicopter Fiasco

The more I read, the more I think this should be a criminal investigation.

http://www.news10.net/video/player_news10.aspx?aid=51544&bw=

--Melanie

Two of my favorite artists played for the Music Cafe at Park City during the Sundance Film Festival, Eisley & Melee. All of the artists were Warner Bros. artists. A small bit of the performances were made into a one hour special. You can see clips here. I believe it will be repeated on a few other dates. Anyway, I also rather liked Missy Higgins and Jeremy Lister on the show quite a bit. Check it out.. the clips aren't long, unfortunately. :(

http://fuse.tv/tv/thesauce/events/parkcity/videos/index.php

Hope you enjoy. :)

Melanie

Now what?

My son has been going to helicopter school. He was doing really well, scoring high on the tests. He had started flying already. Let me tell you that helicopter school is not inexpensive. He has some pretty sizeable student loans to cover the cost (this in addition to working his regular job.)

They closed the school.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_State_Helicopters

The worse thing is that they just disbursed a sizeable portion of funds 2 days ago.

So, he is back to less than square one and feeling a bit overwhelmed. I am hoping there is another school out there that will help pick up the slack. Pray that the lending agency will be able to get back the most recent disbursement so he at least has some hope.

Apparently Silver State had a school in Ogden as well. The exact same story.. the student loan funds were disbursed 2 days before the bankruptcy. It would be pretty tough to convince me they didn't know about this before they took the money, which to me means they took the money out of false pretenses. This really is criminal, imho.

http://deseretnews.com/article/content/mobile/0,5223,695251025,00.html
http://www.inergizedigitalmedia.com/story.aspx?content_id=B8
85CFC3-3F2D-484B-AFE6-934E11B33D76

I don't know how some people sleep at night. :(

Thanks,
Melanie

Depression, etc.

This is a repost from my myspace blog last night. First I'd like to preface it with a few things the most important of which is that I am feeling a bit better today. I do have bouts with depression, probably hormonal most of the time, but not always. Usually something will trigger it, and the physical part will just last a bit longer than the emotional. Fortunately I can usually tell the difference, and for that reason it usually doesn't last long. I consider that a real gift. Secondly, I love my husband. He is still my best friend, but I don't think any one person will be able to meet every need I have. In fact, only God can do that in reality. Some of us just want more intimacy with more people than others. The feelings that I mention here are real and I still struggle with them. I want to be someone who's transparent, warts and all, although sometimes it can get complicated. LOL I figure I'm not the only one muddling through this life, and I am muddling a lot lately. LOL

Oh, I made both phone calls. The first one I stuttered like crazy trying to say what I wanted to say, left out some key info., but still went well overall so far and since I was able to follow up via e-mail, I think it will work out just fine. The other I left a message because the person was out. --Melanie

"Wow, this is the second time this month I've felt kinda down and rather isolated. The feeling down isn't so great, but I'm sure that will quickly pass. It usually does. What is bugging me most, I think, is that I really don't have anyone close to me. I need that. I mean my spouse, of course, but there are some things that we don't share much - like my love of concerts or my faith. We talk about it, but it's not something he is as passionate about as I am.

He's not very socially oriented, and I am. So, we have no couple friends. No one comes to my house for dinner. I go out with friends after church for lunch sometimes, but then I don't see them again until next Sunday. I love most of them dearly, and I fit there better than I've ever fit anywhere else, but that's all there is.

I like a lot of the artists I meet, and some I've seen for years now. But I'm still just a fan. I understand that, I honestly do, but it still makes me a little sad. I guess if I didn't like any of them it would be different. But I do.

People elsewhere have their own lives and families. I do some volunteer stuff, but I am on the inside, but not on the inside, if that makes sense. So, I feel like I'm on the outskirts of every relationship I'm in now, and I want more than that. And I still feel like I'm mostly an anomoly that everyone just tolerates. I guess that's all selfish, huh? But I can't help feeling that way. I will talk myself out of this eventually, and prayer helps. I'm just tired.

Then there's other things I can't blog about publicly. It just kinda piled up on me tonight. Everytime I think things are about to fall into order, disorder is right there behind it to knock me down. I just want to catch up, but can't get started; or when I start I am only treading water. I'm not lazy. When I have a specific task to do, I work hard. But I am overwhelmed.

Don't get me wrong.. I am very, very grateful for what I've had, for the opportunities I have been given. If I had no sorrow, the joys would somehow probably just be taken for granted. But I'm feeling sorta lonely and isolated tonight, and buried. Pray that I come up for air.

God's blessings to all,

Melanie

P.S. I know it's not the most important thing out there, but would love to have some prayer for tomorrow if you are the praying sort. I need to make a couple of presentations over the phone, and I am horrible at that sort of thing. I am very nervous about it, and the depression isn't helping!"