Simply Because - Rooney

September 25th, 2007

Mood: Happy
Music: Moonage Daydream - David Bowie

I started making my Locksley purse today. I'm using a tshirt I bought a few years ago to make it. You see, I'm seeing them on Wednesday (yay!) and they're opening for Hanson. Usually when they open for another group not too many people know them or care to know them except me. After their performance, though, people head straight for their merch stand because they kick so much ass. This time I want everyone to know that when I'm hanging around their merch stand after their set it's because I was in love with them when I walked through the door. Plus, they know me (sort of) so it'd be interesting to see what they think of my purse. :P

Speaking of, I have to get my hair done early in the morning so I'm off to bed.

That Girl Has Love - Rooney

September 21st, 2007

Mood: Accomplished
Music: Dr. Phil on the TV

So...I painted today like I said I would. I actually had fun with it and it's not an abstract. It's a cartoonish John Lennon. I'm ALMOST happy with how it came out too. I'm really happy with his head, but his body...eh. I didn't do the whole body because, hello, I suck at drawing so to get a torso I'm semi-happy with is exciting. Now, there's suppose to be a hand in the picture, but I couldn't draw a hand for the life of me so there's a blank space there. It doesn't really take away from the image, but at the same time I wish I could draw a hand!

I drew the original image almost six years ago (and I couldn't draw a hand then either) so I traced it onto a canvas. Mother really likes it and thinks I should, at least, draw one of George, but I told her I got lucky with this one. I might attempt a George, but I won't get upset if I can't do it. John is everything to me. He's the reason it came out well because I love him so very much. So much.

I'll be changing my avatar and sig at midnight tonight to what they were. I changed my avatar to one I made a few months ago to show my support for peace.* I actually got the idea from the film The US vs John Lennon. It was the same image and basically the same panning action (if I remember correctly). I loved it so much I recreated it for an icon.

I've also been helping Mandyjg20 with her forum. I got her shop up and running (still needs a bit of tweaking) and I'm glad I could help. You should all check out her forum. She needs teachers and staff so if you wished you were on the staff here, here's your chance!

Gotta eat something before I go to work. Remember peace, everyone!






*

Sorry Sorry - Rooney

September 16th, 2007

Mood: Gloomy
Music: Another Day - Wings

All I did was go to Ben & Jerry's website to confirm the name of an ice cream flavor and somehow ended up on Peace One Day thinking of what I can do for peace. I'm a self-proclaimed "Lennon disciple" and though that mostly entails spreading the message of John's (and the Beatles) music, I should also spread the message that meant so much to him: PEACE!

There's only one problem with the pledge I made. I can't paint! What was I thinking? I know what I was thinking, I was thinking that no one would ever see my crappy painting. Still, the thought of having to paint is intimidating. I'll do an abstract so I can say what it is and it won't have to look like what I say it is. Wish I could change my pledge, though, because I doubt I'll end up painting a person, but something not as complicated.....oh, why did I pick THAT pledge? -smacks forehead-

I do encourage everyone who may read this entry to make their own pledges. I'm not unrealistic and understand that absolute peace will never be achieved, but I see nothing wrong with wanting peace or making an effort to do something positive instead of something negative for one day. You also don't have to do a pledge that's difficult like mine so don't worry about not having time, energy or the financial resources to partake. I read a pledge from someone who was going to smile at everyone they saw that day. It's just that simple.

"You are all geniuses, and you are all beautiful. You don't need anyone to tell you who you are. You are what you are. Get out there and get peace, think peace, live peace, and breathe peace and you'll get it as soon as you like." - John Lennon

I Wanna Talk About Me - Toby Keith

I have journal on a Harry Potter site I frequent and I thought I'd move over some of the more interesting entries to this one because I know it's going to be deleted eventually. Just ignore the board related bits. So, first entry...

September 9th, 2007

Mood: Tired
Music: Diamond Girl - Seals & Crofts

I thought I'd give a quick update before Shark comes on. I'm hoping it's an episode I haven't seen yet. I felt exhausted when I woke up, though I slept in. Then I tried to clean my room up, but I didn't get far. At least I made some progress on it. Trust me, for me that's a miracle.

Saturday night I went to the final night of the Last of the Breed tour. It was a triple headliner tour consisting of Ray Price, Merle Haggard, and Willie Nelson. Though at times I had wished I was at a Who gig instead, I did enjoy myself and I'm glad I went. It's not everyday you get to see not one, but THREE musical legends live in concert. Willie closed, of course, and he was amazing. They all were actually, I mean, Ray Price said he was 81. 81 and he still has a great set of pipes on him! I didn't know too much of the material (I like country, but I'm not big into it), but they were all entertaining. Really great musicians.

Speaking of concerts, Locksley will be in Philadelphia on the 26th!! I'm super excited. I always am for a Locksley gig. They will be playing with Hanson of all people. I'll probably leave after their set. I hope I get a chance to talk to, at least, Aaron and Jesse.

Alright, Shark's about to start. Until next time.

EDIT: They're not playing Shark! What the...

I'd Do Anything - World Without Sundays

I'm very confused.

There's this boy in a band I really like. The band, I mean, not the boy, no and the boy, no, no, I don't know. My problem is I can't figure out if I like said boy or not.

I have no chance in hell with said boy. I'm sure he has a girlfriend (or boyfriend - I'm liberated) and if he doesn't, why would he want me? Exactly. He wouldn't so I don't have delusions of grandeur or anything like that. I've been trying to grow up when it comes to that sort of thing, though it doesn't always work.

Here's what I do know. I love the way he makes me feel. When I'm around him I act like a complete ass and I don't feel like one...at the time (later when I reflect on the conversation I want to bury myself). I feel loved, I feel important, and I feel (somewhat) pretty which never happens. He boosts my confidence just by listening to what I have to say whatever it may be (and it's usually stupid) or complimenting me for some odd reason. The last time he gave me his autograph he signed it with a little heart and after that I've been saying how he gave me a small heart, but broke mine. Why? Because I'll never have him...but I'm not sure I want him in the first place!

I try to imagine us being together and, though I can imagine it up to a certain point, it never really gets deep. Just being his friend would be enough for me, honestly, so why do I feel so heartbroken? Am I heartbroken that I'll know I'll never even be his friend...

That might be it, actually. That could be it exactly. I would kill to have this guy in my life as more than just a fan worship relationship and I know that'll never happen. They all like me well enough, but it'll never go further than what it is now and I'm running out of time. They are well on their way to becoming the rock stars they're meant to be so the time I have to build a friendship grows thin. They'll blow up and I'll be forgotten and maybe that's the other reason why my heart aches.

Although there's really nothing I can do about the friendship thing, I at least know why I've been feeling the way I have and it has nothing to do with liking said boy in said band.

Why Not Me - Locklsey

You know what, no. I can't keep it in any longer and I don't fucking care if I sound like a cradle-robber. In my defense, next month he'll be 18 which makes him legal in my home country. So...

Daniel Radcliffe, why do have to be so damn sexy? Fuck.

My love affair with Daniel started with the first film. He was on Letterman (I didn't actually see the show) wearing a suit and David asked him which Beatle he was. He laughed and a light bulb went off in my head. OMG, he DID look like a Beatle. John Lennon to be exact. I had been a Ron fan up until I saw that promo, but I was a full-blown Harry girl after that. He's since grown out of his John Lennon stage, but for the better. I'm only bringing this up because mother and I watched all the Harry Potter movies this week so I was watching Daniel transform into the handsome man he is today. And he knows he's beautiful as I may have shouted it at him, twice, at the Goblet of Fire premiere in New York. I PRAY he didn't figure out it was me saying, "OMG, HE'S BEAUTIFUL!" when he was only a few feet away, but if he did who cares. I'm never going to be face to face with him ever again and it's not like he would remember if the stars were to align for a second time.

Speaking of HP, I may get my very own Playstation 2 so I can continue playing the games. I haven't finished playing the 3rd game (and I'm really close to the end), I didn't get the 4th game and now the 5th is coming out and they're saying it's the best of series. I'm not much of a gamer, but I'm pretty excited for this.

You know who else is an underage (again, only by a year) hottie? Thomas Sangster. It took him a little bit to grow into it, but he's finally made it. I foresaw that when I saw him in Love Actually. I can be quoted by saying, "he's going to be hot when he grows up." Yes, it may have sounded strange then, but look who's laughing now. It's me, but not too loud.

All Over Again - Locksley

No Authority Rhyming Disease (a.k.a. NA Rhyming Disease or NARD). It's a terrible disease that plagues songwriters everywhere. Even my dear Locksley.

The name and disease originated back in the late '90s when I was still very much into my bubble gum pop phase. No Authority was one of the many boy groups that graced the pages of 16, Bop, Tiger Beat, etc. Josh Keaton had the most amazing eyes, still does, and had the voice of an angel. Naturally, I was in love. I picked up their debut album, Keep On, and discovered that they had a bit rhyming problem. You'd be singing along and suddenly you'd sing two lines that didn't rhyme. Classic NARD line:

'Cause you will hurt yourself
And you will hurt my feelings
Let's stop wasting our time
Is it me or someone else
Baby explain yourself
Let me know the deal, tell me

WTF? It was then that NARD was discovered and used to discribe non-rhyming lyrics that spring up in songs.

Recently, I've been listening to Locksley's album, Don't Make Me Wait, non-stop for the past few days. I wasn't a fan when I first gave it a listen and now, months later, I see it's brilliance. Yes, those boys still have a bit to go before everything they touch is gold, but they are well on their way.

Near the end of the song It Won't Be For Long this line pops up:

Oh no, well I can't say
Cause I'm moving on, well I've gone away.
Memories of her are all that remain,
Memories of her, of her and of me.

Um, NARD, much?

And, omfg, Josh Keaton is all grown up. I feel old.

Fantastic Voyage - David Bowie

A few weeks ago my mother received a call from her aunt concerning my aunt. This left her with a lot on her mind and tears in her eyes. When I asked what the problem was she sadly told me that she was being forced to put her sister in a nursing home.

I little background history before I continue. My aunt has cerebral palsy and when my grandparents died my mother was more than willing to take care of her, she has all her life, but her aunt claimed custody over her as she wanted to exploit my aunt by using the money she receives from social security for her own personal gains. Apparently she fixed things in her home to make it more "wheelchair friendly" and what not so it looked as though she was using the money for the benefit of my aunt when in reality she wasn't. I believe my mother fought an internal battle with herself about her sister since her parents died. My father is not as understanding of my aunt's disability as he should be (especially since my mother told him the first day he showed interest in her that there would come a time when she would have to take care of her sister and he said he was fine with it) and mother is practically disabled herself and knows that she can't properly take care of her. So, she accepted her aunt's request to take care of my aunt.

My mother's aunt claims she can no longer take care of my aunt and wants her to live with us. My mother tried to explain to her that there's no one here that's able to take care of her, but her aunt persists. She's going on vacation and can't be responsible for her anymore. It's at this point that my mother realizes that her sister must be put into a nursing home and it breaks her heart. Not only because of the entire situation, but we've been planning to move to Las Vegas next year and she doesn't want to leave her sister here alone. The past couple of weeks have not been the easiest on her and it breaks my heart to see her so upset.

My aunt arrived yesterday. I wouldn't say I'm particularly close to her, but I'm in no way as cold-hearted as my mother's aunt who tried to give me a sob story that she wished she didn't have to do this. All I could think about was the vacation she would be going on in a few days and the money she took from my aunt for her personal benefit. It made me so angry and I found myself wondering how people like her live with themselves.

And now I sit here looking at my aunt, who's watching tv and coloring, and I just feel sad. I work at not one, but two nursing homes. The environment there is certainly not as warm as one would hope and I'm just imagining her sitting by herself feeling completely alone. I'm sure it's not any different to what she's used to, but it...I don't know. It just feels wrong since I know that she could have been spared this fate for a few more years if my mother could take care of her or if my mother's aunt wasn't so selfish and cruel. The only good thing about the home she's going into is that I work there during the night and have a half hour break almost every night. I've already made the decision to visit her on these breaks as I'm sure they'll be small rays of sunshine in her mostly dull days.

For now, I think I'll go in there to have lunch and watch a movie with her. She'll like that.

Catch Us If You Can - The Dave Clark Five

I'm going through the extremely painful process of organizing the music I've collected since the crash of Steve, my Dell computer, in 2003. Ever since then I've been building up the music collection I once had, and then some, and burning all the files to disk. Recently I have been uploading the extremely important files to an external hard drive and will soon back those up on disk when I get disks to burn them onto. I'm only slightly paranoid of going through another 2003 crash.

All ablums/songs must pass my four basic criteria to avoid the recycle bin:

• Complete Album - This means that all the songs listed for that album are present.


• Intact Songs - Nothing grates my cheese more than a song that is cut off a few seconds before it's over.


• Sound Level - Songs that have been ripped at a low volume level don't work for me.


• Song Quality - BIGGIE! No pops, static noise, outside noises, etc. Exceptions made for hard-to-find tracks.

What makes this task so painful? The size of the collection I've acquired that I've just neglected over the past year or so. I seems that I just downloaded a few of these albums for the sake of downloading them. Now I'm faced with 116 albums that I have go through to make sure they meet said criteria. Had I just listen to these albums within the week it came in to my possession I would not be in this predicament.

Let this be a lesson children. Don't be lazy and don't procrastinate.

Coming into Los Angeles - Arlo Guthrie (30sec clip)

I wish I could have this clip on a loop. Or I could, you know, just buy the album.

I watched Woodstock today with my mother and can't get that Arlo Guthrie song out of my head, Coming into Los Angeles, and decided to see if he was on tour or something (although I'm "not going to concerts"). For your information, Arlo is currently on tour and he's coming to Harrisburg which is only 45 minutes away from me. I am stoked! I wanted to check out the price of tickets on the theater's web site and found that they're either not selling tickets yet or haven't made them available online. So, because I was bored, I scrolled through who else was going to be there and fucking B.B King is coming in June!

Now, this would be fantastic on its own however I've been planning on going here, there and everywhere to see him and now he's in my backyard. I'm ecstatic, I'm going, and it'll be a lot cheaper.

So, I'm not off the concerts just yet. I'll just limit it to local gigs if I find out about them in time.

Across the Universe - Fiona Apple

I like to waste money on various educations I have no intention to use. First was photography (which my parents paid for, poor things) and then it was web design through online courses which has put me $16,000 in debt and I didn't even complete the program because I failed my last course and, at the time, couldn't afford to retake it.

This is all leading up to my next educational venture: make-up artist.

Before I go on to discuss the tribulations I'll have to go through to go to the particular school I wish to attend I would like to first give the reasons why I think this one might work out.

I consider myself an artist without a medium. I can not draw or paint, write or play music, write, dance, or act. I think I've attempted to do all of these things at least once with results that left much to be desired. However, I was once turned down for a job (and then later hired) because I was "too creative". Creative in what, though? That was my biggest issue.

I had decided in high school I wanted to be a photographer. It was something I could do, but I don't think I was ever really passionate about it. This led me to go to photography hell, I mean school for 10 months. It was during those 10 months that I discovered that I liked creating a web site far more than taking pictures. This is now untrue. I dislike them both equally. Sometimes I like them both. Depends on how the picture/site turns out. That led me to take online courses since it wouldn't be as expensive as going to a college which I didn't want to do nor could I afford to do. This was a bad choice in the end, but I continued on because I didn't want to look like I failed at it. Only I did in a way.

I've been working ever since and I was content with that since I can't seem to make up my mind or stick with anything. I never wanted to pick up a camera again after photography school and the online thing left a foul taste in my mouth though I do continue to create sites when the spirit moves me. Lately I've become increasingly unhappy with my current situation and started to think of ways to change it. I started of thinking of careers that I could see myself doing for years and years. I started of thinking of careers that I could be passionate about and the first thing that popped into my mind was music. There are tons of things to do in the music industry and none of it I want to do. Except for maybe personal assistant as I've been told on two occasions that I could prevail in such a position. I was actually quite pleased with myself that I could say, "you would never be happy sitting at a desk pushing numbers in the name of music. You would rich, yes, but perhaps corrupt."

My goal was to find a creative job that I could do that would somehow involve the music business. Being a make-up artist was something I once joked about when I saw one running her fingers through Franz Ferdinand drummer Paul Thomson's hair on the set of the Do You Want To? video shoot. I then thought about it more. It wasn't until I heard that Stephen Colbert brushed the hair of his make-up artist on the set of his show (she had been fixing his and he took her brush) that I knew this was it. At the very least I could work in retail or in a salon. At the very most I could be working with musicians/celebrities. And that is why I think this one might work out.

One would think this would be an easy profession to get into. Far from it especially from a hippy chick who has only worn make-up once in the entire 22 years of her life. That's why there are schools to teach you these things and the one I have my eye on is the Make-up Designory in New York. The downside is I have to pay for as much of it as I possibly can out of pocket and the rest I'll have to tack on to the $16,000 I already owe. That's the part I'm not looking forward to because I have to make a HUGE sacrifice: no concerts. There are three exceptions to the concert renouncement and they are Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the Who. This is big for me, like, worse than the no junk food Lenten promise. Concerts are what I fucking live for, but I'm willing to do that if I can one day be the girl to run her fingers through the hair of a favorite musician.

My plan is to be a student at MUD no later than the middle of next year. -sighs- As Frank Sinatra once said, "here goes, baby, here goes."

Bounce - Todd Collins

I Have Always Depended on the Kindness of Strangers: New York and Back in 24 Hours

On Saturday my parents were supposed to pick up a rental car so my mother and I could drive to Long Island and see the Who at Nassau Coliseum. Early Saturday morning they left to do their taxes and by the time they finished they just missed the closing of the rental place and didn’t pick up the car. As if they were talking about the weather they notified me about the car issue and the likely possibility of missing the concert. We looked into a few other options, but we would have been stuck in New York until Monday morning and there was no way that would have worked for us. It was then I knew I wasn’t going to make it to Nassau and posted so on the board. Apparently my father kept asking my mother if I was mad at her and she kept saying, "no, but she’ll be mad at you when I tell her what you did."

What my father failed to mention is that he somewhat slowed down the process on purpose. He knows how much I love concerts and would never want to see me upset however he really didn’t want me to go to New York, again, and spend money on a concert, again. Although the taxes thing was slowing them down, he certainly wasn’t in a hurry to make it to the rental place. In retrospect, if he wanted to save me money he should have just picked up the freaking rental car!

The one thing my father should know about me by now is that when I really want something no is not a word in my vocabulary.

Lisa (whofanatic) asked if I was able to make it to where she lived in New Jersey and she could take us from there. I thanked her for the offer, but declined. She gave me her cell phone number in case I changed my mind and mentioned a train station near the turnpike on her way that she could pick us up at. After looking over the schedules I saw that it might be crazy enough to work and we planned that I would take a train in and she would drive us to Nassau and drop us back off after the show. My father was not pleased that I found a magic train (I left out the part about Lisa) to New York and back, but didn’t object. Knowing what I know now it was best he didn’t.

9am Sunday morning I got up and packed everything we needed. I woke my mother up at 9.30am and we needed to leave the house by 10 (our train left at 11.20). We left at 10.20am which meant we had an hour to get to the train station and pray we don’t miss it. I dropped my mother off at the station and found an illegal parking space (I convinced myself that I would pay for the ticket and/or impound fee if I could make the train) and rushed back to the station to find my mother standing at the ticket booth with a grim expression on her face. We had missed the train. After a small argument, we decided to take the next train to New York that arrived at 4.30pm. I called Lisa and told her what happened and asked her if she was still willing to take us back to the station in New Jersey after the show. She said yes and we were on our way. There was a nice man on the train that gave us oranges because we didn’t pack any food and we both only had two waffles before leaving.

I made a post about missing the train and John (midnighter) told us to take the Long Island Railroad and a cab to get to Nassau once we reached NY. He also sent along his cell phone number incase something should come up, but I was feeling confident that we wouldn’t have any problems once we got there. Four hours later we arrive in NY, a half hour behind schedule, and buy tickets for the LIRR that left at 5.48pm. We stopped at the K-Mart that was there so I could purchase flowers for all the people who offered to help me out (whofanatic, midnighter, and whoareyu). There were no flowers so I went with chocolate and it HAD to be Hershey’s because it wouldn’t right if it wasn’t. I got John the assorted bag because he said that the next time he had one he would be reminded of me dressing up as various chocolate candy. We were told that our train would leave from platform 21 and we went down there early so we wouldn’t miss it. I kept hearing a call for Hempstead/Jamaica and asked my mother if she heard what I did however we were told that this was our platform and didn’t move until the sign above said Babylon. That’s when we went back upstairs and questioned what was going on. Another woman told us that we missed the train and she didn’t know why they directed us to platform 21. The next train out to Long Island was at 6.48pm. For a moment I panicked. Then I called John to see how much damage had just been caused. Perhaps it wasn’t as bad as I thought….

Nope. It was that bad.

He explained to me that it would take at least an hour for the train to get there and then another 20 minutes for the cab to get to Nassau. We discussed the option of him picking us up because he happened to be going through the city even though he hadn’t planned on it and was only 15 minutes away from where we were. I knew it was crunch time and told him I didn’t want him to risk missing the show for me, but we talked it over a bit more and I caved. Soon after, like a knight on a white horse (or in this case a white car), he pulled up, I killed his cooler with mom's wheelchair and we crammed into his backseat. I felt so bad for JP! There’s nothing like getting to know a person than sharing ass space with them. He said he didn’t mind and if that’s the truth or not I don’t care to know, but at least he was kind enough to lie about it. Bless him. The nice thing was I was finally able to meet John, JP and Sharon who were nothing but lovely to us. We discussed things about the forum and shared a few laughs. Had there been a little more room for all of us in the back and if traffic wasn’t so terrible I would say it was a perfect way to meet.

Speaking of traffic, it was terrible. On the way to Nassau wasn’t so bad, but trying to get to the actual venue was a nightmare. It was backed up for at least 45 minutes and the clock was ticking closer and closer to showtime and we were all getting a bit nervous (except for my mother who could care less and was half asleep). A wave a relief came over us when we finally reached the entrance of the parking lot. John, who hadn't gone to the bathroom for hours, jumped out of the car and ran across a parking lot to a fence to relive himself. He was so totally embarrassed by that, but I only saw the humor in the moment and I'm glad it happened. I think it was one of our major bonding moments. John dropped us off at the doors and we would meet up with him later. Mom and I rushed over to the box office to see if they had any tickets left for her. I was hoping to upgrade myself, but since it was almost 8.30pm, and with everything that happened earlier, I was lucky to be there and wasn’t going to bother asking. She got a ticket, we went through the doors (they didn’t stop us to scan or check our bags), and found her seat. I then rushed to the floor to find my seat. I set my bag down, sat down (6th row, Pino’s side), saw Lisa and wanted to get her attention, but 60 seconds later the lights went out and Pete was walking across the stage.

I compare each show to Philly I. That was the show that turned me from just liking the Who to really loving the Who and I think it’s that emotional attachment to Philly I that all the others I’ve seen don’t compare. However, Nassau was still a fantastic show.

The band’s energy was really good. Roger seemed like he was having a good time as he smiled a lot when looking out into the audience. Pete was in his element and his playing was top notch and that black jacket was the best thing to happen to him or at least to a Pete fangirl. Also, during AAA, the screens showed both John Lennon and Paul McCartney in the montage and I was torn at what to look it. Do I watch the screens to see my beloved Beatles or do I watch what’s happening on stage?

Roger’s voice was fine though it looked like he was struggling during WAY a few times. He played with the phrasing of songs (which was throwing MY signing off) and added fun accents to a few lyrics in others (like, "Doo-Dah Band" and "open legs"). I was really excited they played RGLB as it’s one of my favorites. Roger did it justice and they went into the mini opera after that. I liked that the screens made a "curtain" for that set. I don’t know why, but I was surprised to see that there were still a lot of people who didn’t know the new stuff. I don’t know it by heart either, but I at least know the chorus to each song and most of the verses. Pete changed the lyrics to Endless Wire from "he gathered wire and angles" to "he gathered wire and ASSHOLES" while pointing to a clump of guys in the center section. Don’t know what they did to provoke him, but it was amusing. Roger also forgot the words to Mirror Door. I thought it was me, singing the wrong words, until he pulled the microphone away in defeat and looked over at Pete who was shaking his head and finished the line for him. Roger laughed it off.

BOR received huge applause which prompted Pete to tell us about the whole festival thing. So did EF or at least from the guy behind me. A lot of people sat down during MIAPD, but stood up again during BWE. WGFA is always a crowd pleaser and then they were off. Four people next to me left to which I thought "SUCKAS!", but perhaps they just wanted to beat the traffic. I’ll never understand that.

No NE for the encore and I guess someone in the audience asked for Relay because Pete said something about playing it.

After the show I finally met up with Lisa and saw Donna (whoareyu) for a moment and then she was gone. We decided to wait by the ramp to which John was kicking himself for not bringing his Tommy vinyl like I did and I thought I was going to hurl. All the smoke in the venue gave me a headache and it probably didn’t help that I had nothing to eat since the orange that guy gave us since we figured we would eat something at the show. Pete left in a van (or at least we think) to a helicopter waiting in the parking lot so nothing was signed.

Lisa and I picked up my mother (who was waiting in line for the bathroom while I was at the ramp) and she drove us to the train station in NJ. We thanked her again for taking us and she was off for home. The station was closed. There was a security office for the parking garage and we talked to the gentleman in there about the train. We were 2 ½ hours early with no where to sit so he said we could stay in the office to stay warm. Mom wanted to know if I had any breath mints for her to chew on and I pulled out the chocolate that was meant for whoareyu only we both had given up chocolate for Lent. It was then I took Karli’s approach and opened the bag saying, "God will understand."

The train came and we had to switch over in Philadelphia. It was there we found a McDonald’s where the guy behind the counter was giving the customer a lesson in manners (that did not go over well, btw). Also, though I didn’t see it, there were about four of five cops in the station apparently arresting someone. I totally missed it. We tried to get to the platform, but the elevator was out so my mother had to get on the escalator. After that, though, everything went smoothly. I slept for a little on the train and made it back home at 9am.

It was the craziest 24 hours of my life, I suppose it could have been worse, but to see the Who I’d do anything. Obviously.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper

This is such a guilty pleasure song, though I hate to use the term "guilty pleasure" when it comes to music. If I like a song/artist I should just own up to it and not be embarrassed even if it's Cyndi Lauper or Britney Spears. I should say that, in most cases, it's only a song or two that I like from these guilty pleasure artists, but still. I'm listening to it because I'm in a bit of a mood and this song lifts my spirits.

I'm downing a knock off version of orange Tic Tacs because I gave up junk food for Lent and I'm starting to feel the repercussion of this sacrifice. They are breath mints NOT candy so it's okay. I'm so fucking weak. I'm never going to last forty days. Actually, I think I would be doing better if I hadn't run out of snacks yesterday. No raisins, no celery, no carrots, no granola, no hummus. I still have cheese sticks and apples (and the Pink Lady apples are so good), but it's not enough. This coming from the girl who wants to magically lose five pounds before the 11th (or 8th).

Today was one of those 12 hour work days that I enjoy so much. Another sacrifice only this one is made in the name of music. Anyway, after reaching my destination I jumped out of the van and I hear birds. It's been a long time since I've heard birds singing and it makes me excited for spring and summer. That lovely moment was ruined rather quickly at the thought that not only do birds and other cute creatures return in spring, but so do insects. Not a favorite of mine, in fact I have a bit of a phobia. Spiders I'm okay with (just not mutant sized ones) because they eat other insects.

I'm trying hard to resist the urge to grab another cheese stick as it would probably be my fourth one today. We're out of milk as well which is my alternative beverage to water. Water, cheese sticks, and apples. Something tells me I didn't get in all my calories today...no, I'm sure I did now that I think about it. Not completely balanced, mind you.

Only a few short days and I'll find out if I won front row tickets to see the Who in DC @ the Verizon Center. Although I did my voo doo before entering the contest, I feel it in my soul that I'm not going to win. It was sad seeing the Chicago tickets go to someone who doesn't post on the thewhotour.com fourms, knowing two of my friends on there entered, but the winner seems like a genuine fan so I can not complain. However, I will complain that since the first two winners no other active member of the forum has won. It's hard to get excited about people you never hear from. I, of course, would love to be the one to break the streak. I'm on a mission to get Roger Daltrey's (broken) tambourine. It would be slightly easier if I was sitting front and center.

There was something else I wanted to comment on, but I feel I've gone on enough. Plus, I can't get a cheese stick from where I'm sitting. What's another fifty calories?

Cold turkey has got me on the run...

With A Little Help From My Friends - Joe Cocker

My one job has XM Satellite Radio (which is rumored to be merging with Sirius and if that's the case I may have to subscribe). If I'm lucky they'll leave it on the '50s on 5 for the better part of my four hour shift. I don't think I've gone an entire shift rockin' with the likes of Bill Haley and Frank Sinatra because it always changes to the fucking Blend (channel 25). Somebody up there doesn't like me (and this bad pun works because I work in the basement). At least, thank goodness, they stopped changing it to the Heart.

Yesterday was different. Someone thought it would be a great idea to leave it on Escape (channel 78) which can be described in two words: elevator music.

Now, I'm fan of almost all genres of music. Elevator music is tolerable when that's all you've got to listen to, but for four straight hours is does get to you a bit. You haven't lived until you've heard "My Generation" done by an orchestra. I jest about that last bit, but I will say that one in ten songs was either a Beatles song or a Simon & Garfunkel song. I actually liked the version of "With a Little Help from My Friends" as it was light, peppy and very swingin' sixties-ish. The part that most disturbed me was that I knew 95% of the songs the various string ensembles played. "Strawberry Fields Forever" followed by "Bali Ha'i" followed by "Volare". Had they all been done by the original artists I would have been in heaven.

I tried to escape from Escape when I hit the large room that holds two Fender speakers. On the days I work alone I pop on whatever cd or cassettes that they have in their collection because it's there and I like good music (yeah, yeah). Having heard most of the good tapes/cds I was elated to find a Bobby Darin greatest hits album. I put it in the cd player and turned on the speakers and....nothing. No sound was coming out and I didn't want to bother with the speaker controls as I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be playing their music on their equipment in the first place. I'm the just the housekeeper. What? I put everything back, where I found it, when I'm finished.

And that's it. No funny ending, moment of insanity or salvation. A bit anti-climatic, eh?

I think next time I'll bring along Rachel Fuller's album (Cigarettes & Housework) as I've still to hear the entire thing.

Alcohol - Brad Paisley

I saw David Bowie's bit on Extras again today. It's so funny! If you haven't seen it, do. Mother didn't find it funny at all, but she also fell asleep through This Is Spinal Tap.

Anyway, someone mentioned that Daniel Radcliffe had been on the show so I, of course, had to seek it out and watch it. I was more than pleasantly surprised and laughing the whole way through. After that I watched the Orlando Bloom and Kate Winslet bits when they were on and realized a few things:

1. Ricky Gervais is a comedic genius.
2. Extras will now be added to British tv shows I need to own.
3. I need a region-free dvd player.

The major thing that came to mind after watching these few clips (YouTube can be good for something else besides drama!) was that Roger Daltrey should go on this show. We all know he's got a killer sense of humor and, apparently, so does Ricky. It would almost be a sin if Roger didn't go on the show. So now I've got to somehow get the idea to both Roger and Ricky before the show gets canceled or some odd thing.

How Do You Sleep? - John Lennon

Though I already have a journal on LiveJournal, I thought I'd create a Blogger to follow Pete Townshend's blog and possibly Ken's who in considering keeping one to do live Who updates while in Tampa. I encouraged him to do so because I think it would be fun. I used to do that sort of thing with my cellphone & LiveJournal. No one really cared.

I really love the title of this blog. It's very political, though I'm not a very political person. I watch the Daily Show and Colbert Report and I sometimes pay attention when some news/talk radio show is on, but that's about it. I try not to get into politics because a) I'm not very informed about them and b) I really don't care, though I am against guns. If there's one thing I will stand against it's that.

In early 1981, the coroner's office gave me back John's belongings in a plain brown paper bag. John was the 'The King of the World'. John -- who had everything a man could ever want -- came back to me in a brown paper bag in the end. - Yoko Ono

If that doesn't want to make you pro-gun control then I don't know what will. That's one of my favorite quotes because it says so much in three short sentences. And it somewhat inspired the "artwork" I created on the right. I call it "Last Lennon" as everything in it was his last. The last photograph taken of him, the last autograph he signed, the last thing he saw (and thing he would remember for the all too short last minutes of his life), and his bloody glasses. Yoko Ono took the image of his glasses as the album cover for her "Season of Glass" LP. I've not actually heard the album, but I love the image. Is that strange?