So
terribly sorry I've been silent the past few days. I'm having to use all my mental
energy to combat against a tidal wave depression that threatens to wash me away.
To keep myself happy and upbeat is taking all I have. So if this entry is crap
(it is), don't be too mad.So,
the trip. The trip was good, the trip was fun. The trip was wrought with peril
and adventure around every turn (not unlike the van ride I'm on at the very moment
I write the draft for this entry). It was well worth all the danger we went through,
at least, in my opinion it was. You have to pity poor Sara, stuck with me that
whole time.
The week of the trip had
been slightly drizzly from Monday to the day we went (Friday). Slight drizzle
but nothing to worry about or delay any plans we had. Well of course Friday it
decided to come down like the 40 days flood. People were wrecking all over the
place. Trees were being stuck down by lightning in droves. Clouds began to cyclone
above my home. Things of that nature. Well, being the smart people we are, the
dyed-red haired wonder and I went anyway with little thought about it. Not going
simply wasn't an option. You only live once, though perhaps not much long after
taking a trip like we did. We at least took the weather into account and left
a good three and a half hours early...yet we were still late (through no fault
of my own...*cough*).
I've been to
Nashville a ton of times (though never to this arena), including a recent trip
just prior with Rhetoric to see "Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon". But the enjoyment of others was in my hands and I didn't
want to be late, so I printed out the worlds most detailed directions to the show,
straight from my doorstep to the arena.
We
still got lost...
Well, to be honest,
we didn't get "lost" so much as simply turned around by the tricky streets of
downtown Nashville. On the way there, the interstate splits into two different
directions, which it seemed to us that my directions had left out which one we
were supposed to take (in hindsight, if it hadn't been distracted, my brain would
have pointed out to me which way downtown was). So after just blindly picking
the one that seemed the most logical, we decided that it must be the wrong way.
After traveling a bit further down, we took an exit and circled to head back the
other way. This is where it got crazy. We (well, I, since I was driving...sorry
Sara!) managed to miss every single exit we needed to take.
Having
left early, we were going to stop and get food before the show since I was starving
and she "could eat something". Deciding to forego finding the arena for the moment,
I took a hint from my unnatural love of "hot, steamy" Krystals and took the exit
where I knew I could get such a "meal" (yes I asked her before dragging her to
such a place...I'm not completely heartless). This was the Krystals in
the VERY same parking area that the movie theater I had been too not long ago
was. Yet somehow I never managed to get the car there. We ended up going towards
about 15 different cities before the night was over (I even missed the exit going
HOME, which I never miss...distraction yet again). When we finally found the right
exit, it turns out it was the very first one we had been on before when we decided
we were going the wrong way...sigh.
I
had begun to go slightly crazy for fear I'd cause us to be late, which would have
made me feel so guilty I'd never be able to face her again. After many
trips through traffic jams, floods, small craters, and the ghetto [where I walked
into a gas station that made me feel like I was in a rap video...luckily no one
decided (stereotype warning) to bust a cap in the little white boy...if
anything, they were nicer to me than most anyone ever is anywhere I go) we made
it. Well, kind of. We knew vaguely which street the show was on but as luck would
have it, it was a one-way street and we were on the dead end of it. You might
say to me "Why didn't you just go one street down and ride it all the way up?"
to which I would reply "I tried". The roads of Nashville are the most insane I've
ever witnessed, and I've witnessed insanity in my day. Every street we went up
would twist back on itself and we'd end up somehow further from our destination.
A
plan hit me at that moment. Why not just park and walk the short distance to the
show. Man, what a folly on my part. We parked close, so we though, though in truth
we were six blocks away. Now that wouldn't be bad at all but it was still raining
icy pellets of death and it was cold. So we, Sara who was looking exceptionally
stunning, and myself looking like myself, got SOAKED and quite frozen. To make
it worse, I left my jacket in the car because "it's always hot inside shows".
So not only was I really cold but I didn't even have a coat to be very
chivalrous with and offer to Sara. What a dork I am.
Even
all this wouldn't have been so bad...that is, had we not had to wait in a line
that wrapped all the way around the block for an hour and a half. I've
never seen anything like it. The only bright point of the line wait was that I
wasn't the dumbest person there...but almost. The people ahead of us didn't
even have tickets yet, for a show which was sold out pretty much at every other
venue across the country. The people a bit behind us were wearing shorts and "muscle
shirts". Oh, and they were bald. And of course I got to overhear a lot of conversation,
which is always entertaining. Another bright point was when I'd look over at Sara,
she'd be laughing to herself about things I tried to not laugh at (except inside)
so that she wouldn't think I was a jerk. That certainly made me want to give her
high praise when she was laughing at the exact things I was. I hope I didn't
go too astray with her...I'm always shy about giving people compliments like they
deserve, such as how excellent she looked. I'm a dork, I can't help it. I
don't know how we managed it but we both managed to not get sick. Woohoo to our
immune systems. Even THOSE are similar.
Despite
all the hardships (which I enjoyed every single minute of, despite what it might
sound like...though I wouldn't have without such good company) the show was excellent.
We did get in late (which was lucky, I have to say) due to the line (had it not
been for the line, we'd have gotten there at the perfect time) so we missed most
of the first band, Snake River Canyon (or some such) which doesn't do it for me.
When APC came out, we unfortunately
couldn't get in the standing crowd or even stand at all, which I felt terrible for, because
it's just hard to get into a show when you are seated. It was great show despite,
very moving and powerful, and I'm certainly glad Sara agreed to go with me. I'd
have been kicking myself had I missed it (which I would have if she didn't go
because I'm not a solo concert going kind of guy).
The
trip back was uneventful, as far as getting lost (though I did miss my turn as
I mentioned). We had the radio permanently set on scan so it was stopping for
a few seconds on country, rock, 80's, blues, you name it. So we (well, I) were
having a good time belting out songs which we often horrified each other
with by the amount of word we knew. Towards the end she was passing out, even
though it was her job to keep me awake via coke bottle slaps to the face.
So I was close to nodding myself though she awoke in time to yank my head from
resting on the window and make sure I was still okay to drive. Good times.
Hopefully
the dyed-red haired wonder didn't get too sick of me on the trip. Though,
how could she not with me singing Whitesnake songs in a high pitched voice all
the way back is beyond me.
compliment
or no?
little
tidbit about my site on diarist.net.
I can't tell if it's a good comment or not. But if I am for some reason making
people hate the world, then my goal for all of this is kind of going backwards.
My point is to try and make people take things more lightly and get enjoyment
out of silly things in life. Then hopefully I can take my own advice (I'm not
really too serious ever, just some specific problems do bother me, but
hey, I have less hang-ups than most).
"Boredom-inspired
rants, one nearly every day. He can make you hate the world if you're not careful.
Well, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. This journal reminds me of why I
left the suburbs of Atlanta years ago, never to return. An entertaining collection
of observations at the local Subway."
wow, over 1000 hits
Yep.
"and I memorized how warm your body felt, as you lay half asleep beside me
and I memorized the way the sunlight filled the room, as it played upon your body
I miss...God I miss, waking up beside you"