Friday, February 27, 2009
clar-i-ty (n): the clearness of thought or style; lucidity.
Sometimes all I've gotta do is listen to this song, and my day turns around.
"And I will pay no mind, won't be worried 'bout no rainy weather..."
E.G.B.A.R.
Drew.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Brain freeze.
Today has been BEAUTIFUL. It was so beautiful, in fact, that I ran OUTSIDE instead of going to the gym. Here's the cool thing about running outside when it's still technically winter: you feel like a champion. I'm telling you, I was to running as John Mayer is to the guitar this afternoon, because it felt like spring. Everybody knows how it is when you run outdoors in the winter. You struggle and you get that coppery blood taste in the back of your throat. Today was like running in the summertime when the sun is out, but cool to the point where there's a constant fan on your face. I liked it.
Speaking of cold, though, I had a painful little experience during an instance of brain freeze yesterday. I got a smoothie after the gym and chugged it a little too fast (couldn't help it, it tasted good). I was driving, and it happened: brain freeze. It's like getting the breath knocked out of you but in your head. You feel like your cranial piece is stuck between two falling rocks while getting drilled at the same time. Not fun, right? As it happened I realized I was holding my head with a crazy-looking grimace on my face, so I started to laugh by myself, and I wondered what other people would have thought if they'd seen me at that moment. It made me laugh harder, and then my brain thawed, so I was happy again. Woohoo.
Gotta love brain freeze, am I right? I rank it up there with lemon juice in papercuts and getting punched in the throat. Throw 'em in a hat and draw one! Maybe not...
Anyway, it's Thursday evening already and I'm chugging along to the weekend which will be full of work as well as my dad's b'day. Hopefully it'll be a good one money-wise, because a week from TODAY I'm headin' down to good ole Cherry Grove with Ms. ADB. Can't WAIT, and I've only got five shifts of work and a resume to get through between now and then. Not bad, right?
New "Office" tonight. And State/Wake. And "Earl". And four weeks 'til Mayercraft. (Yes!).
Peace outside.
Drew
P.S. Remember kids, Freezo the dog says, "Don't drink frozen beverages too fast."
Speaking of cold, though, I had a painful little experience during an instance of brain freeze yesterday. I got a smoothie after the gym and chugged it a little too fast (couldn't help it, it tasted good). I was driving, and it happened: brain freeze. It's like getting the breath knocked out of you but in your head. You feel like your cranial piece is stuck between two falling rocks while getting drilled at the same time. Not fun, right? As it happened I realized I was holding my head with a crazy-looking grimace on my face, so I started to laugh by myself, and I wondered what other people would have thought if they'd seen me at that moment. It made me laugh harder, and then my brain thawed, so I was happy again. Woohoo.
Gotta love brain freeze, am I right? I rank it up there with lemon juice in papercuts and getting punched in the throat. Throw 'em in a hat and draw one! Maybe not...
Anyway, it's Thursday evening already and I'm chugging along to the weekend which will be full of work as well as my dad's b'day. Hopefully it'll be a good one money-wise, because a week from TODAY I'm headin' down to good ole Cherry Grove with Ms. ADB. Can't WAIT, and I've only got five shifts of work and a resume to get through between now and then. Not bad, right?
New "Office" tonight. And State/Wake. And "Earl". And four weeks 'til Mayercraft. (Yes!).
Peace outside.
Drew
P.S. Remember kids, Freezo the dog says, "Don't drink frozen beverages too fast."
Monday, February 23, 2009
Gastonia.
My grandma is awesome.
I had a few days off so I rolled down to Gastonia today to see and hang out with her. One thing that's great about coming to see her is that it's always relaxing, and when you leave, it's another one of the ways you can hit "reset" on the feeling tired area of your metaphorical personal Nintendo. Hanging out with her is also a great way to hear classic family stories and good advice on important things, like life.
I got to her house around 2 today, and we immediately ventured out to pick up my cousins Chandler and Chase to take them to the dentist. It was great getting to see them for a while, because even though it doesn't happen too often, we're a close family, and I love kickin' it with the cousins.
After this, we got home around 4:15 and sat to talk for a while. We caught up on everything from work to family to what I'm doing the next few weeks, and as I yakked away, I started to realize how tired I was. It used to be that when I was in school, my exhaustion would hit me whenever I'd come home. Now that I'm done and living it home, it hits me when I come to Gastonia. I told her I was going to go lay down for a bit, and she figured she'd do the same. I set my alarm to allow me to sleep for an hour which turned out to be the right thing do to, because I was out as SOON as I hit the pillow. Once it went off, I came back down the hall to find her just as asleep as I was.
She got up a few minutes later and finished making dinner. One major plus of coming to visit her is that the food is ALWAYS amazing. Tonight she cooked her lemon chicken with brown rice and homegrown turnip greens (sorry to make you jealous, Carra), and it was ridiculously good. Along with dinner, she told stories of my grandfather, which is something else I always enjoy.
Since the weather's been crazy-cold lately, it reminded her of the year they got engaged. She talked about this, and how after he proposed, he would come visit her in Chapel Hill as often as he could, because he was living in Winston-Salem at the time. She said that the weather that year was crazy, and that "it seemed like it snowed every Wednesday that March." My grandfather would usually visit on the weekends, and she said that after one major snowstorm she called the bus station to see if they were running trips. They told her they weren't due to the weather, so she figured he wouldn't show that particular weekend. However, my grandfather was a determined and good guy, so even though she didn't expect it, sure enough, he drove himself and showed up at her door for his usual visit. I thought that was pretty cool of him, and it's definitely something I'd like to live up to.
She also talked about the economy, and how even though things are bad now, they'll go up again eventually. Now, obviously this is something we hear a lot, but hearing it from her is that much more credible, because she's been through this situation several times in her almost 92 years. Even though times are hard today, I believe her, and you should to, so breathe a sigh of relief folks. Things will get better.
Anyway, after a helping and a half of amazingness on a plate, we went to the living room and watched a little TV together. Grandma made the good point that there's either nothing on or several things on you want to see at once, and I quickly agreed. Tonight was a channel-surf night until nine when "Heroes" came on, but in the meantime we enjoyed good conversation until she went to bed.
I'm looking forward to sleeping in here tomorrow (she stressed that I sleep as late as I want--what a good host, huh?), and then grabbing lunch with her before I hit the road home in the afternoon, knowing that this is something I definitely want to do again soon.
So for now, goodnight everybody, and sweet dreams.
Drew
I had a few days off so I rolled down to Gastonia today to see and hang out with her. One thing that's great about coming to see her is that it's always relaxing, and when you leave, it's another one of the ways you can hit "reset" on the feeling tired area of your metaphorical personal Nintendo. Hanging out with her is also a great way to hear classic family stories and good advice on important things, like life.
I got to her house around 2 today, and we immediately ventured out to pick up my cousins Chandler and Chase to take them to the dentist. It was great getting to see them for a while, because even though it doesn't happen too often, we're a close family, and I love kickin' it with the cousins.
After this, we got home around 4:15 and sat to talk for a while. We caught up on everything from work to family to what I'm doing the next few weeks, and as I yakked away, I started to realize how tired I was. It used to be that when I was in school, my exhaustion would hit me whenever I'd come home. Now that I'm done and living it home, it hits me when I come to Gastonia. I told her I was going to go lay down for a bit, and she figured she'd do the same. I set my alarm to allow me to sleep for an hour which turned out to be the right thing do to, because I was out as SOON as I hit the pillow. Once it went off, I came back down the hall to find her just as asleep as I was.
She got up a few minutes later and finished making dinner. One major plus of coming to visit her is that the food is ALWAYS amazing. Tonight she cooked her lemon chicken with brown rice and homegrown turnip greens (sorry to make you jealous, Carra), and it was ridiculously good. Along with dinner, she told stories of my grandfather, which is something else I always enjoy.
Since the weather's been crazy-cold lately, it reminded her of the year they got engaged. She talked about this, and how after he proposed, he would come visit her in Chapel Hill as often as he could, because he was living in Winston-Salem at the time. She said that the weather that year was crazy, and that "it seemed like it snowed every Wednesday that March." My grandfather would usually visit on the weekends, and she said that after one major snowstorm she called the bus station to see if they were running trips. They told her they weren't due to the weather, so she figured he wouldn't show that particular weekend. However, my grandfather was a determined and good guy, so even though she didn't expect it, sure enough, he drove himself and showed up at her door for his usual visit. I thought that was pretty cool of him, and it's definitely something I'd like to live up to.
She also talked about the economy, and how even though things are bad now, they'll go up again eventually. Now, obviously this is something we hear a lot, but hearing it from her is that much more credible, because she's been through this situation several times in her almost 92 years. Even though times are hard today, I believe her, and you should to, so breathe a sigh of relief folks. Things will get better.
Anyway, after a helping and a half of amazingness on a plate, we went to the living room and watched a little TV together. Grandma made the good point that there's either nothing on or several things on you want to see at once, and I quickly agreed. Tonight was a channel-surf night until nine when "Heroes" came on, but in the meantime we enjoyed good conversation until she went to bed.
I'm looking forward to sleeping in here tomorrow (she stressed that I sleep as late as I want--what a good host, huh?), and then grabbing lunch with her before I hit the road home in the afternoon, knowing that this is something I definitely want to do again soon.
So for now, goodnight everybody, and sweet dreams.
Drew
Laughter = Coffee.
Woke up relatively early so I could get a good start to the day. Ate my cereal and drank my two cups of coffee (one black) to get my metabolism going for the gym trip I'm about to make.
And then I saw this, and realized that a good laugh that needs to be shared is even BETTER than coffee for waking up in the morning. Check it out:
This could possibly be the most entertaning Mayer cover I've ever seen. He reminds me of Fez from "That 70's Show", and I'm LOVING how much he gets into it. The best of it comes at the end, so if you don't feel like watching the whole video, go to the solo at 2:25 and watch from there...
Hope this started your week off on as much of a high note as mine. Gym time now, Gastonia for the night later.
Drew
And then I saw this, and realized that a good laugh that needs to be shared is even BETTER than coffee for waking up in the morning. Check it out:
This could possibly be the most entertaning Mayer cover I've ever seen. He reminds me of Fez from "That 70's Show", and I'm LOVING how much he gets into it. The best of it comes at the end, so if you don't feel like watching the whole video, go to the solo at 2:25 and watch from there...
Hope this started your week off on as much of a high note as mine. Gym time now, Gastonia for the night later.
Drew
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Back to the King.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I'm a huge Stephen King nerd. After a short hiatus from his books (I'm still coming down from my "Dark Tower" high), I've decided to go back and read some more.
Finished "Pet Sematary" tonight, and it was amazing. I was skeptical at first because it started off kind of slow, but as I read, I realized that it was only King developing his characters so that you the reader would grow attached to each one. In doing this, he draws you in and makes you feel like you're a part of the book and the growing problems of each person as things start to fall apart. You also see the characters as they go from normal and happy to completely insane. He takes the best intentions and love of the main character and stirs it up with a twist of evil so tragic that you're left feeling sorry for him and stunned by the plot in the end of the book. Genius.
He's completely taken the ancient Greek tragedy style and thrown it into modern times. To summarize without character names, Father meets an old wise man who shows him a place where things can be brought back to life. Of course, when the things come back, they're not the same, so he's warned not to do it. The little Son dies, leaving the family completely broken, but the Father remembers the burial place. He tries to put things back together, but in doing so, everything else crumbles, and his best intentions leave him worse off than before. Again, genius.
Anyway, if you're looking for a quick read, definitely check it out. I'm stoked to rent the old crappy movie version now, just to see how different it is and if it does any justice to the book.
Next up for me is "Everything's Eventual", a collection of King's short stories. Definitely excited to switch from the novel format and see what he's got up his sleeve...
DS.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Biscuits are good.
Had a nice little Friday last night.
Started off with some good conversation down at Natty's and made it up to the Blind Tiger for a Zeppelin cover band called "Kashmir". They call themselves the "best Zeppelin tribute band in the world", and they were definitely legit. The lead singer looked and sounded like Robert Plant, the guitarist was RIDICULOUS, the drummer had some sick solos, and best of all: the bass player looked JUST like Horatio Sanz from SNL. The highlights of the night came during their versions of "Ramble On" and "Over the Hills and Far Away". They played for over three hours, which was great, but by the end I was so tired from dancing that I would stop and not realize I was standing still until I'd get called out about it. Anyway, I definitely got my Zeppelin fix for the next year, but it was an HONOR getting to see "the world's best Zeppelin tribute". Of course, I'm sure 'world's best' is thrown around on these bands just like it's thrown around coffee shops on every corner in New York (picture Buddy the Elf: "Congratulations!"), but who's counting?
After leaving the show, I got slapped in the face by hunger, so going to Herbie's seemed like a good idea. I chugged a sweet tea as soon as I could, and ordered the amazing combination of french fries and a country ham biscuit. I decided a long time ago that biscuits are my favorite form of bread. Think about it. They're ridiculously good. Rolls are nice, baguettes are good with cheese, but biscuits can be good with ANYTHING. If I had it my way, I'd use biscuits instead of bread for everything from sandwiches to even burgers. Mmmm, mmmm. Cornbread is a close second.
Anyway, the late-night meal was amazing at the time, as eating past midnight always seems to be while you're enjoying the food, but I'm feeling it now. Ah well. It's the weekend, right? "Ya owe it to yahself!" And dang, biscuits are good.
Got to sleep in today, too, which was nice and much needed. It's always a good start to a weekend when you get to sleep in until right before a State game. They're on now, and we're up 15-2. Hopefully it'll last, but sorry folks, I gotta go watch this. Work later, then Saturday night.
Enjoy yours.
D.
Started off with some good conversation down at Natty's and made it up to the Blind Tiger for a Zeppelin cover band called "Kashmir". They call themselves the "best Zeppelin tribute band in the world", and they were definitely legit. The lead singer looked and sounded like Robert Plant, the guitarist was RIDICULOUS, the drummer had some sick solos, and best of all: the bass player looked JUST like Horatio Sanz from SNL. The highlights of the night came during their versions of "Ramble On" and "Over the Hills and Far Away". They played for over three hours, which was great, but by the end I was so tired from dancing that I would stop and not realize I was standing still until I'd get called out about it. Anyway, I definitely got my Zeppelin fix for the next year, but it was an HONOR getting to see "the world's best Zeppelin tribute". Of course, I'm sure 'world's best' is thrown around on these bands just like it's thrown around coffee shops on every corner in New York (picture Buddy the Elf: "Congratulations!"), but who's counting?
After leaving the show, I got slapped in the face by hunger, so going to Herbie's seemed like a good idea. I chugged a sweet tea as soon as I could, and ordered the amazing combination of french fries and a country ham biscuit. I decided a long time ago that biscuits are my favorite form of bread. Think about it. They're ridiculously good. Rolls are nice, baguettes are good with cheese, but biscuits can be good with ANYTHING. If I had it my way, I'd use biscuits instead of bread for everything from sandwiches to even burgers. Mmmm, mmmm. Cornbread is a close second.
Anyway, the late-night meal was amazing at the time, as eating past midnight always seems to be while you're enjoying the food, but I'm feeling it now. Ah well. It's the weekend, right? "Ya owe it to yahself!" And dang, biscuits are good.
Got to sleep in today, too, which was nice and much needed. It's always a good start to a weekend when you get to sleep in until right before a State game. They're on now, and we're up 15-2. Hopefully it'll last, but sorry folks, I gotta go watch this. Work later, then Saturday night.
Enjoy yours.
D.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Randy Jackson wears a giant watch.
Sitting around the house catching up on DVR'd tv shows and wasting time/putting off going to the gym (I'll get there).
American Idol is on now, and I'm not really paying attention, but damn, Randy Jackson has a huge watch. I mean, it looks like he could get a workout just from raising his arm to look at the time. I'm impressed.
I know you're saying "rewind for a second, did he say 'American Idol'?" Yeah, I did. No, I haven't gotten sucked into it like a lotta people are, but hey, it's fun to watch from time to time. Don't hate.
Right now it's actually a pretty nice break from Sportscenter. Recently all they've had to talk about is Michael Phelps and A-Rod. I've got a little beef with sports media right now. Don't get me wrong, I was SICK of seeing Phelps' face EVERYWHERE sixth months ago after winning all of those medals. I mean, I was proud of what he did, but it got old pretty quick. Now though, I'm sick of seeing the media shoot him DOWN. Give him a break! He didn't cheat at the sport. He didn't hurt anybody. He didn't father any random kids. He just got caught in a bad position. But remember, he won EIGHT gold medals! Michael, I got your BACK, dude.
And the A-Rod deal, come on now. I'm not a Yankee fan OR an A-Rod fan, but this is getting ridiculous. Let the guy play his sport. Yes, he lied bout doing performance enhancing drugs, but when he DID do them, they were LEGAL. Ok, so it was a dumb move of him to deny it at one point, and it was dumb that he even DID it, but technically no rules were broken. Baseball's a month and a half away, and I'm crossing my fingers that this will be DONE by then. We'll see.
I'm not feeling Sportscenter today anyway, after UNC laid it down on my Wolfpack last night. It was a respectable loss. Sort of. Ahh, the life of a State fan. It's never been easy.
But enough sports complaining. I'm done for now. American Idol. Big watches. Music. New "Office" tonight. Woohoo.
D$ykes.
American Idol is on now, and I'm not really paying attention, but damn, Randy Jackson has a huge watch. I mean, it looks like he could get a workout just from raising his arm to look at the time. I'm impressed.
I know you're saying "rewind for a second, did he say 'American Idol'?" Yeah, I did. No, I haven't gotten sucked into it like a lotta people are, but hey, it's fun to watch from time to time. Don't hate.
Right now it's actually a pretty nice break from Sportscenter. Recently all they've had to talk about is Michael Phelps and A-Rod. I've got a little beef with sports media right now. Don't get me wrong, I was SICK of seeing Phelps' face EVERYWHERE sixth months ago after winning all of those medals. I mean, I was proud of what he did, but it got old pretty quick. Now though, I'm sick of seeing the media shoot him DOWN. Give him a break! He didn't cheat at the sport. He didn't hurt anybody. He didn't father any random kids. He just got caught in a bad position. But remember, he won EIGHT gold medals! Michael, I got your BACK, dude.
And the A-Rod deal, come on now. I'm not a Yankee fan OR an A-Rod fan, but this is getting ridiculous. Let the guy play his sport. Yes, he lied bout doing performance enhancing drugs, but when he DID do them, they were LEGAL. Ok, so it was a dumb move of him to deny it at one point, and it was dumb that he even DID it, but technically no rules were broken. Baseball's a month and a half away, and I'm crossing my fingers that this will be DONE by then. We'll see.
I'm not feeling Sportscenter today anyway, after UNC laid it down on my Wolfpack last night. It was a respectable loss. Sort of. Ahh, the life of a State fan. It's never been easy.
But enough sports complaining. I'm done for now. American Idol. Big watches. Music. New "Office" tonight. Woohoo.
D$ykes.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Heckuva weekend.
What a WEEKEND!
Started off with what was probably one of the luckiest Friday the 13th's I've ever experienced. I opened up at work and got through a decent lunch shift only to stick around and have a birthday lunch with my mom, which was great. Happy birthday week again, Mom.
The afternoon rolled around pretty quick and suddenly it was time to rock it out for Amanda's 21st. We went BACK to Sticks and Stones for a great dinner and took our time enjoying the food and the company in a corner table. Her 'rents brought her a cake, which we scarfed down after our pizza, and we headed out to get ready for the party when dinner was over.
After dinner we went on to the Blind Tiger, where the real festivities began. We mainly went to watch the headline band, Holy Ghost Tent Revival (think of an even-more local version of the Avett Brothers), but enjoyed the other acts in the meantime while we sipped on drinks and danced our hearts out.
And speaking of the headline group, let me give all of you a little piece of advice. There's a scene in Ghostbusters where Ray gets shocked by the main ghost at the end of the movie for saying he's not a god. After this goes down, Winston yells at him and says "Ray, the NEXT time someone asks you if you're a god, you say YES!". Well, Friday at the bar, I went up to get a drink, and apparently I was rockin' the style the band wears for the most part, and the bartender looked at my money and said "Aren't you in the band?". Of course, being the honest guy that I am, I said no, and he took my money. It didn't hit me that if I'd said I was I could've gotten it for free. Ah well. I'll be quicker when it happens again. So there's my advice, folks. The next time someone asks you if you're in the band, YOU SAY YES!
Anyway, Holy Ghost went on around 12 and had the whole place dancing and clapping and stomping feet. We were all drenched in sweat and loving it by the end of the show.
Afterwards we went back and hung out until about six in the morning, which definitely made the bed seem hella-comfortable.
Saturday came too soon but Friday was worth it, and with it came Valentine's Day. I've given my two cents on this "holiday" before, and I'll say my name for it again: Hershey's and Hallmark Day, but hey, this year I was actually pretty excited for it. I made it low key for the most part, and cooked Amanda's favorite dinner for her: eggplant parmesan. We ate by candlelight and just enjoyed each other's company. I couldn't have asked for anything more on Valentine's Day, and honestly, I couldn't be happier with how it was spent. Here's to you, St. V...
On top of all of this, work went by pretty crazy today. I was kind of left by myself, but I held the place down with a little help from my boss and luckily made mad bank. I closed it all out just now with a nice dinner with my parents at Lucky 32.
I guess the weekend's not officially over, but it's been a whirlwind, and I'm still loving it. I've still got 3.5 hours til Monday, so I'm gonna go enjoy it for now. Peace outside, folks.
Drew.
Started off with what was probably one of the luckiest Friday the 13th's I've ever experienced. I opened up at work and got through a decent lunch shift only to stick around and have a birthday lunch with my mom, which was great. Happy birthday week again, Mom.
The afternoon rolled around pretty quick and suddenly it was time to rock it out for Amanda's 21st. We went BACK to Sticks and Stones for a great dinner and took our time enjoying the food and the company in a corner table. Her 'rents brought her a cake, which we scarfed down after our pizza, and we headed out to get ready for the party when dinner was over.
After dinner we went on to the Blind Tiger, where the real festivities began. We mainly went to watch the headline band, Holy Ghost Tent Revival (think of an even-more local version of the Avett Brothers), but enjoyed the other acts in the meantime while we sipped on drinks and danced our hearts out.
And speaking of the headline group, let me give all of you a little piece of advice. There's a scene in Ghostbusters where Ray gets shocked by the main ghost at the end of the movie for saying he's not a god. After this goes down, Winston yells at him and says "Ray, the NEXT time someone asks you if you're a god, you say YES!". Well, Friday at the bar, I went up to get a drink, and apparently I was rockin' the style the band wears for the most part, and the bartender looked at my money and said "Aren't you in the band?". Of course, being the honest guy that I am, I said no, and he took my money. It didn't hit me that if I'd said I was I could've gotten it for free. Ah well. I'll be quicker when it happens again. So there's my advice, folks. The next time someone asks you if you're in the band, YOU SAY YES!
Anyway, Holy Ghost went on around 12 and had the whole place dancing and clapping and stomping feet. We were all drenched in sweat and loving it by the end of the show.
Afterwards we went back and hung out until about six in the morning, which definitely made the bed seem hella-comfortable.
Saturday came too soon but Friday was worth it, and with it came Valentine's Day. I've given my two cents on this "holiday" before, and I'll say my name for it again: Hershey's and Hallmark Day, but hey, this year I was actually pretty excited for it. I made it low key for the most part, and cooked Amanda's favorite dinner for her: eggplant parmesan. We ate by candlelight and just enjoyed each other's company. I couldn't have asked for anything more on Valentine's Day, and honestly, I couldn't be happier with how it was spent. Here's to you, St. V...
On top of all of this, work went by pretty crazy today. I was kind of left by myself, but I held the place down with a little help from my boss and luckily made mad bank. I closed it all out just now with a nice dinner with my parents at Lucky 32.
I guess the weekend's not officially over, but it's been a whirlwind, and I'm still loving it. I've still got 3.5 hours til Monday, so I'm gonna go enjoy it for now. Peace outside, folks.
Drew.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Ahoy, yo.
Mayercraft 2 is BOOKED.
Well, I guess the actual trip was booked back in October, but as of today, EVERYTHING else is taken care of. I got my ticket to Mayer's Eve, ticket to the VH1 Save the Music show (which includes a Red Carpet), AND my plane ticket to LA. All I've gotta do now is wait and pack.
I've told a handful of people about this, but kept it quiet for the most part until now, and let me say that I couldn't be more excited. It's a four day cruise on the Carnival Splendor from Los Angeles down to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and the music is non-stop on the way.
I'll be flying into LA on March 26 to board the ship and throw my bags down, only to immediately go out to enjoy the sun and an open bar for the start of "Mayer's Eve", a pre-cruise celebration that involves DJs and cocktail attire. Once this gets into full swing, I'll make my way to the main arena for a VH1 benefit concert involving John Mayer, Gavin Rosdale, Sara Bareilles, Jordin Sparks, OAR, and Guster. And this is just the first night!
The ship sets sail the next afternoon and we spend a day at sea on the way to Mexico. Mayer is giving two full-band performances and an acoustic show on the deck of the boat on the way there and back. I'll also be rockin' out to OAR, Guster, Justin Nozuka, David Ryan Harris, and several other acts throughout the event.
Once we get to Cabo, we get a day at port, so I'll definitely be hitting the beach while I'm there.
After some time south of the border, we get back on the ship and rock it out the whole way back. Besides the concerts, the boat will have several different forms of entertainment, ranging from karaoke to mini golf to a casino to all-night pizza bars that will save several of us from the regular bars. It's gonna be awesome.
I'm also really excited to meet so many other people that are as big fans of Mayer's music as I am. That's right, folks. There are others like me out there, and there are lots of them!
I've gotten even more hype about this the last few days because of the Grammys (where I realized I cheered for Mayer to win like I cheer for my sports teams--sad, right? No shame, though. No shame). He won 2 last night, which was great, and now his next big event is the cruise, so who knows what he'll bring out (I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some new tunes, but we'll see).
Anyway, it's a month and a half away, but you know I'll be counting it down until I get on the boat...
Ahoy, yo.
Drew
Well, I guess the actual trip was booked back in October, but as of today, EVERYTHING else is taken care of. I got my ticket to Mayer's Eve, ticket to the VH1 Save the Music show (which includes a Red Carpet), AND my plane ticket to LA. All I've gotta do now is wait and pack.
I've told a handful of people about this, but kept it quiet for the most part until now, and let me say that I couldn't be more excited. It's a four day cruise on the Carnival Splendor from Los Angeles down to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and the music is non-stop on the way.
I'll be flying into LA on March 26 to board the ship and throw my bags down, only to immediately go out to enjoy the sun and an open bar for the start of "Mayer's Eve", a pre-cruise celebration that involves DJs and cocktail attire. Once this gets into full swing, I'll make my way to the main arena for a VH1 benefit concert involving John Mayer, Gavin Rosdale, Sara Bareilles, Jordin Sparks, OAR, and Guster. And this is just the first night!
The ship sets sail the next afternoon and we spend a day at sea on the way to Mexico. Mayer is giving two full-band performances and an acoustic show on the deck of the boat on the way there and back. I'll also be rockin' out to OAR, Guster, Justin Nozuka, David Ryan Harris, and several other acts throughout the event.
Once we get to Cabo, we get a day at port, so I'll definitely be hitting the beach while I'm there.
After some time south of the border, we get back on the ship and rock it out the whole way back. Besides the concerts, the boat will have several different forms of entertainment, ranging from karaoke to mini golf to a casino to all-night pizza bars that will save several of us from the regular bars. It's gonna be awesome.
I'm also really excited to meet so many other people that are as big fans of Mayer's music as I am. That's right, folks. There are others like me out there, and there are lots of them!
I've gotten even more hype about this the last few days because of the Grammys (where I realized I cheered for Mayer to win like I cheer for my sports teams--sad, right? No shame, though. No shame). He won 2 last night, which was great, and now his next big event is the cruise, so who knows what he'll bring out (I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some new tunes, but we'll see).
Anyway, it's a month and a half away, but you know I'll be counting it down until I get on the boat...
Ahoy, yo.
Drew
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Citizen Cope.
I guess it's about time I write about the Citizen Cope show in Raleigh.
First of all, it's easy to sum it up by saying it was amazing. I've always liked his sound (Side note: "Citizen Cope" refers to the lead singer, Clarence Greenwood, so he's a person, not a group. I didn't know this until Tuesday), but I never knew much about him or his music outside of a handful of songs. The show was at the Lincoln Theatre, so being a smaller venue, the tickets were a good deal and Amanda and I knew we'd be able to get close to the stage since it was general admission. In weighing all of this out, we decided it would be worth the money and the drive to catch the concert. We were right.
Doors opened up at 7, but we took our time trying to get there and stopped by an old friend's house. It was my first time going back to Raleigh since November, so I felt a tug of sadness and realized that I really do miss the place. Thinking about it though, it's more the people that I'm really wanting to see again soon. And the memories that I'm missing. But that's not what I'm writing about now, so no more tangents...
After driving around town for a bit, we got to the Lincoln Theatre at 7:30 and the line stretched down the street. My problem with shows is that I get to the ones I DON'T need to get to super early and nobody's there, but when I take my time, every ticketholder ends up being in front of me. As it turns out, this didn't matter, because as soon as we got inside, we crawled our way to the front of the group and ended up standing behind only one row of people.
The opening act was a chick named Mieka Pauley, and she rocked the stage with a solo acoustic performance. Her guitar playing was very Jack Johnson-esque, and she had a real chill vibe going on. She was definitely entertaining, starting strong by using her guitar to drum a beat and singing her heart out. The highlight of her performance came towards the end with a cover of Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah". She teared up during the song, and definitely did it justice.
Citizen Cope came on around 9:30 and the crowd went wild. It was his second night in town, and he recognized a few of the fans from the previous show, which was cool. I only knew about 5 of his songs going into the concert, but I immediately became a fan of everything else he did as he played. Most of his music is very anthem-like, and a lot of it has a marching feel to it, which is great. He was really good about getting the crowd involved, and everybody loved singing along.
Their version of "Let the Drummer Kick" had everybody bouncing their heads, and "Bullet and a Target" had everybody doing backup of the chorus while Cope sang the verse. Another highlight of the show came when he played the song "Holdin' On". I'd never heard it before, but it was slow, so I started swaying with Amanda, and as he got into singing, he said "I love it when people start touchin' on each other when I play this song" and looked right at us with a smile. The lyrics of the song really fit our situation, and after that, we officially found "our" song (cue the "awww"s).
After the show we stopped by the Village Draft House and chowed down on their fried pickles. They were amazing, and I freaked out even more when I realized it was Tuesday, so it was RIB NIGHT! Talk about the memories, eh? It was definitely a great way to end the evening, and we drove back to Greensboro talking about how great the show was, and how we'd found our song (cue the "awwww"s again. No shame here).
Definitely looking forward to the week ahead, but before that gets here, enjoy a few pics from the show.
Latas,
Drew
First of all, it's easy to sum it up by saying it was amazing. I've always liked his sound (Side note: "Citizen Cope" refers to the lead singer, Clarence Greenwood, so he's a person, not a group. I didn't know this until Tuesday), but I never knew much about him or his music outside of a handful of songs. The show was at the Lincoln Theatre, so being a smaller venue, the tickets were a good deal and Amanda and I knew we'd be able to get close to the stage since it was general admission. In weighing all of this out, we decided it would be worth the money and the drive to catch the concert. We were right.
Doors opened up at 7, but we took our time trying to get there and stopped by an old friend's house. It was my first time going back to Raleigh since November, so I felt a tug of sadness and realized that I really do miss the place. Thinking about it though, it's more the people that I'm really wanting to see again soon. And the memories that I'm missing. But that's not what I'm writing about now, so no more tangents...
After driving around town for a bit, we got to the Lincoln Theatre at 7:30 and the line stretched down the street. My problem with shows is that I get to the ones I DON'T need to get to super early and nobody's there, but when I take my time, every ticketholder ends up being in front of me. As it turns out, this didn't matter, because as soon as we got inside, we crawled our way to the front of the group and ended up standing behind only one row of people.
The opening act was a chick named Mieka Pauley, and she rocked the stage with a solo acoustic performance. Her guitar playing was very Jack Johnson-esque, and she had a real chill vibe going on. She was definitely entertaining, starting strong by using her guitar to drum a beat and singing her heart out. The highlight of her performance came towards the end with a cover of Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah". She teared up during the song, and definitely did it justice.
Citizen Cope came on around 9:30 and the crowd went wild. It was his second night in town, and he recognized a few of the fans from the previous show, which was cool. I only knew about 5 of his songs going into the concert, but I immediately became a fan of everything else he did as he played. Most of his music is very anthem-like, and a lot of it has a marching feel to it, which is great. He was really good about getting the crowd involved, and everybody loved singing along.
Their version of "Let the Drummer Kick" had everybody bouncing their heads, and "Bullet and a Target" had everybody doing backup of the chorus while Cope sang the verse. Another highlight of the show came when he played the song "Holdin' On". I'd never heard it before, but it was slow, so I started swaying with Amanda, and as he got into singing, he said "I love it when people start touchin' on each other when I play this song" and looked right at us with a smile. The lyrics of the song really fit our situation, and after that, we officially found "our" song (cue the "awww"s).
After the show we stopped by the Village Draft House and chowed down on their fried pickles. They were amazing, and I freaked out even more when I realized it was Tuesday, so it was RIB NIGHT! Talk about the memories, eh? It was definitely a great way to end the evening, and we drove back to Greensboro talking about how great the show was, and how we'd found our song (cue the "awwww"s again. No shame here).
Definitely looking forward to the week ahead, but before that gets here, enjoy a few pics from the show.
Latas,
Drew
Monday, February 2, 2009
#3 on 2.
Today is Groundhog Day, a holiday that I've pointed out before as being mad-underrated. I won't go into too much detail about it tonight, but I'll let everyone know that Punxsutawney Phil has officially predicted another 6 weeks of winter for 2009. Bummer.
Of course, there are some major events going down in these final 6 weeks of winter, so there are definitely things to look forward to while riding out the cold. "Like what, Drew?", you might be asking. And I'd say, "Like this:
1. Citizen Cope concert in Raleigh tomorrow.
2. Important birthdays on the 11th and 13th.
3. Friday the 13th. This one's got a double meaning, because the NIGHT is gonna be money, AND the movie is starting. Nice.
4. Hershey's and Hallmark Day, a.k.a. Valentine's Day. This is one I usually bash, but I'm actually looking forward to it this year. Woohoo.
5. More resume action. Yes, the economy still sucks, and yes, I feel like the underdog now, but you can't score if you don't shoot. That's word.
6. Another important birthday on the 28th.
7. March 2nd. "Keep me where the light is..." Day.
8. Spring break for you people who are still in school. I'll find a way to make my own.
9. MARCH MADNESS. Oh yeah, it's six weeks away.
10. Six weeks from now, I'll be two weeks away from Mayercraft. Nice."
So there you go. Six more weeks of winter may be a slight bummer, but a lot of good things are happening in that time period. Get hype for the coming months, because Spring will be here soon...sort of...
Drew
Of course, there are some major events going down in these final 6 weeks of winter, so there are definitely things to look forward to while riding out the cold. "Like what, Drew?", you might be asking. And I'd say, "Like this:
1. Citizen Cope concert in Raleigh tomorrow.
2. Important birthdays on the 11th and 13th.
3. Friday the 13th. This one's got a double meaning, because the NIGHT is gonna be money, AND the movie is starting. Nice.
4. Hershey's and Hallmark Day, a.k.a. Valentine's Day. This is one I usually bash, but I'm actually looking forward to it this year. Woohoo.
5. More resume action. Yes, the economy still sucks, and yes, I feel like the underdog now, but you can't score if you don't shoot. That's word.
6. Another important birthday on the 28th.
7. March 2nd. "Keep me where the light is..." Day.
8. Spring break for you people who are still in school. I'll find a way to make my own.
9. MARCH MADNESS. Oh yeah, it's six weeks away.
10. Six weeks from now, I'll be two weeks away from Mayercraft. Nice."
So there you go. Six more weeks of winter may be a slight bummer, but a lot of good things are happening in that time period. Get hype for the coming months, because Spring will be here soon...sort of...
Drew
8:07 a.m.
Made it to sunrise. Felt pretty good about it. Clear day so far. Pretty tired now. Took some pictures. Enjoy.
D.
D.
Still awake.
It's 5:42 and I'm still awake.
I hope you're asleep now, and that you're sleeping well.
Since I'm still up, I figured I'd try to watch the sunrise. In order to do this, I checked Weather.com to see what time this was supposed to happen, and it said 7:19. That's a good chunk of time away from now, but at the same time, it's not. The question is, is it worth staying up for? It's kind of like when you go out to dinner and eat most of your food, but you've still got some left and you're still kind of hungry. You know that if you eat a little more, there won't be enough to save, but you'll be satisfied. If you SAVE the food, you'll be stuck still kind of hungry, but you'll have enough for another meal or a good snack later. Of course, if you REALLY think about it, how often do you reheat the food once you take it home? For me personally, I usually throw it out after a few days of looking at it under the bright white lights in the fridge. Overall, I think it's a better decision to go ahead and eat the last bit of food. It makes sense, you become satiated (which is a fancy way of saying you reach the perfect level of fullness--yes, I paid some attention in nutrition class and listed to "Something's Missing), and you don't waste anything in the process. Good deal, right?
So yeah, it's a new month and a new day. I think I'm feeling [and needing] this sunrise. Screw doggie bags. You only live once.
Goodni--
I mean, Good Morning,
Drew
[P.S. I'm slightly delirious, but my head's on straight]
[P.P.S. Never force anything.]
[P.P.P.S. Catch a sunrise soon if you can]
[P.P.P.S. Follow your heart, you'll never fall apart]
[P.P.P.P.S. Done with the cliches for now. Gonna wait for the sun...]
I hope you're asleep now, and that you're sleeping well.
Since I'm still up, I figured I'd try to watch the sunrise. In order to do this, I checked Weather.com to see what time this was supposed to happen, and it said 7:19. That's a good chunk of time away from now, but at the same time, it's not. The question is, is it worth staying up for? It's kind of like when you go out to dinner and eat most of your food, but you've still got some left and you're still kind of hungry. You know that if you eat a little more, there won't be enough to save, but you'll be satisfied. If you SAVE the food, you'll be stuck still kind of hungry, but you'll have enough for another meal or a good snack later. Of course, if you REALLY think about it, how often do you reheat the food once you take it home? For me personally, I usually throw it out after a few days of looking at it under the bright white lights in the fridge. Overall, I think it's a better decision to go ahead and eat the last bit of food. It makes sense, you become satiated (which is a fancy way of saying you reach the perfect level of fullness--yes, I paid some attention in nutrition class and listed to "Something's Missing), and you don't waste anything in the process. Good deal, right?
So yeah, it's a new month and a new day. I think I'm feeling [and needing] this sunrise. Screw doggie bags. You only live once.
Goodni--
I mean, Good Morning,
Drew
[P.S. I'm slightly delirious, but my head's on straight]
[P.P.S. Never force anything.]
[P.P.P.S. Catch a sunrise soon if you can]
[P.P.P.S. Follow your heart, you'll never fall apart]
[P.P.P.P.S. Done with the cliches for now. Gonna wait for the sun...]
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