Just for the record. The Houston airport and surrounding area is not an easy place to get out of. As in by car, it's probably way simpler by airplane. All I know is that I got VERY tired of my phone "recalculating route". But I finally got back to San Antonio, finished packing and then....
On to O-H-I-O!
February 16th, 2011
Ok, everyone has priorities right? When it comes to visits to Ohio there are certain places that need to be visited. One such place was my first stop. Tai's Asian Bistro.
A short aside from the interim of this road trip. This is the perfect opportunity to both thank Candler, and hate Candler, for introducing me to Tai's Asian Bistro. I'd never eaten Chinese before until he, hmm, I think it was pretty much he made me try it. And I liked it. Nothing new in that story. But now I'm in Texas and there is absolutely NO good Asian restaurant that lives up to this place. If you're in Columbus and have never been.... go!
Back to priorities. In Columbus we must spend time with my favorite and the best kitty cat in the ENTIRE world. Peanut. Isn't she adorable?
Which by default means I have to spend time with Peanut's owner. Just kidding. It means I finally get to spend some bonding time with the forever best roommate in the entire world, Laura.
Laura does, however, own the most annoying clock in the whole entire world. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Sure, it may look nice but don't be fooled. It comes down off the shelf and goes directly under the bathroom sink as soon as it nears bed time. Love your clock Laura!
February 17th, 2011
If I'm in Ohio it is imperative to go down to Cincinnati for some more food. There we have Skyline Chili. So good. So so good.
Oh, and I also had a good visit with my family while eating my Skyline. :) After a nice, but short, visit it was time to go back to Columbus and get some sleep for the continuation of our road trip!
At first they had stated no cameras, but the day of the concert we got an email from the lady from PBS stating we could bring our own cameras. Not that I was truly going to leave it behind, but getting that email made me think that we would be able to get individual pictures on our own devices.
We joined others at the box office at 5:00 and then we waited. And waited. Finally we were brought in where we all signed our names and the name of our guest. In my case, my sister, Linda. We were brought into the lobby area of the theater where we waited. And waited. Annnnd waited. The guy from the PBS special was there and talked about... something. lol. PBS stuff? Eventually, Clay's bodygaurd, Jerome, came out to give/get instructions of how they were going to set up the meet and greet. Everyone was clearly prepared and ready. Or not? It ended up that we were to line up, Clay would come around and greet us and sign something and then we would get our picture taken with him. It was rushed but Clay did give each of us individual attention... twice.
I planned to have him sign my over exposed picture from Spamalot stage door. I was thinking more in terms of a way to scrapbook whatever he signed as well as I thought it being purposeful since you can't see who we are anyway. By the time Clay came out I was calm enough (from waiting) that I think I actually remember at least most of what happened. I think. When he got to me I gave him my picture and told him that our first picture didn't turn out so well. He apparently agreed because he gave it an odd look of agreement, laughed and said that's funny. lol. I told him he could just sign across the entire picture... which he did and laughed at it again.
This time around I was a little more aware too as I remember his height... I love that he's taller then I am. A lady down from us commented on how she liked his hair. Clay's hairstyle can always become a topic of conversation as he seems to change it every two weeks. I found it funny because he said that other people had said that too and he hadn't done anything too it... he had just gotten out of the shower. He truly hadn't done anything to it yet either... it was kind of amusing that people were commenting on it. At that point I had a thought that that's why we had been waiting so long? We were waiting for him to finish showering across the street at his (and my) hotel. :)
Once autographs were signed it was picture time. Mary (Clay's awesome tour assistant) and the girl from PBS were taking pictures... I think they were switching off or something... to move the line faster. Not sure. Mary got my camera though. Clay told Mary not to over expose the picture (like my poor Spamalot pic) lol. He also said it could have also just been his face [that caused it to be over exposed]. Yeah, I'm sure that was it... or not. Anyhoo. Linda was kind enough to share her picture with me so I have two pictures with Clay. When she got up she mentioned that I'm the fan, she (Linda) was just the enabler (it was so true... having Linda here/there was just great) Clay was like... "well what's that supposed to mean?" My sister of course backtracked and said that she was a fan too but.... and was cut off by Clay giving her a look and saying "mhmm.... too late now, can't take it back. " lol. I'm SO proud that I actually remember the face he gave her. Classic Clay.
He said thanks to everyone and than it was another wait to the concert. The meet and greet went by fast but it was worth every penny of that donation to PBS.
Another awesome part of the evening was after the concert. We went back to our hotel and found Jerome in the lobby. I finally got a picture with him. He asked me if it was my first concert. Apparently (and according to my sister) I gave him a weird look and he changed his question to was this my first concert of this tour. lol. I said yes, and that I would be in Pittsburgh and Cleveland. He was like... Cleveland?! He totally didn't know they were going to Cleveland - he just thought they were going to Cincinnati! He said that his daughter was going to be upset with him because he had told her he wouldn't be in Cleveland. I kindly informed him that yes, they were going to be in Cleveland on Saturday and also that they better be there because I bought tickets to a show! lol.
Linda and I didn't go back outside in time so we missed Clay coming out of the theater to the bus. There weren't that many people and he stopped to thank people for coming and took some pictures. I didn't want to look stalkerish by running out to meet him so I missed that opportunity.
All in all. It was a great night. Of course, how could it not be?
Every scene will have a meaning. You go around like you know who I am, but you don’t. Do you have a better thought? Tell me if you’re ready. It’s cool we’re just friends. When we used to be just friends. Don’t wanna second guess. And I wonder…I know that life can be so hard. I know that life will test your faith. If I had my way, we’d talk and talk all day. Nothing comes without a cost. But when I turn 94, I still miss you. No matter how I try, try to kill the time. So hold on to another day. That’s a start. That’s where the answers are. Now’s the time to let the whole world know. Sorry for the miscommunication. Don’t wanna second guess. This has been no walk in the park. One day at a time. So this is where the story ends. Goodnight and goodbye.
Oh, I just can't wait for Friday night. Big Rob is for real and that's no lie.
13 songs in playing order:
Versper's Goodbye (Nick Jonas and the Administration)
So we all remember how I've been wanting to move to NYC right? Ok well an update. With my departments blessing, and my own personal blessings, I plan to start applying to positions within Chase in August so I can FINALLY make the move to my favorite city ever. That being said, I'm still in Texas just working.
Now that we have a solid and informational preface... Today at work my friend Susette decided she was going to write a paragraph using just lyrics from the Jonas Brothers songs. Fun right? Ok, fun for her. And decidedly me. On lunch I had time to listen to 15 songs. Two of them were instrumental so 13 songs. I grabbed a few lines from each song that I thought could work in a paragraph. And *poof*. I came up with a perfectly cohesive (ish?) paragraph about my life and NYC using just lines from Jonas Brothers songs. I got really lucky with the New York line which is how I got a foundation.
Here goes:
Where would we be if we couldn’t dream? I’ll never change my ways, It’s not a phase. Everybody knows it’s true. I’ve found a place where my heart will stay. New York’s cash, but that’s ok. Everyone knows it’s meant to be. I’ve been making lots of plans. One day at a time, try to kill the time. But my feelings never change. I try to live without regrets. Something’s creeping inside, everything is about to change. Building up the strength to say. Are you ready to rock and roll. Don’t hit the brake, no time to waste now. This is critical, yeah. Listen to me now. If you hear my cry, running through the streets. I’m about to freak, come rescue me.
Songs in playing order (though not sentence order):
I Am What I Am
Just Friends
Sorry
One Day At A Time
Conspiracy Theory (Nick Jonas and the Administration)
Australia
But My Feelings Never Change (Camp Rock 2 soundtrack)
Something I learned yesterday morning... Even though a roommate may appear to be peacefully sleeping as I go downstairs to pour some cereal (sadly I was fresh out of Corn Pops) one should still be prepared to see her barrelling down the stairs, running full speed through the kitchen, and out to the garage for some unexplained reason while I'm still preparing said cereal. It was quite amazing really.
Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long for an explanation as there came a sort of frustrated scream coming back through the garage door. So much for peaceful.
As it turned out, our household had failed the responsibility of putting out the recycling bin for the second week in a row. Jennie remembered though, partially by the sound of the recycling truck driving past. I was impressed. I can hardly wake up to my alarm that is right next to my head, while she can wake up to a truck driving past our house.
There was an attempt made to roll the bin to the other side of the street but the only response Jennie got was a friendly wave from the driver. With hope lost, it was decided we would have to put our recyclables in bags until the next pickup. And on with our day we went. Until....
I hear the truck rolling back up the road! Since when does the recycling truck go around the neighborhood twice? After our lengthy discussion over left over cereal milk and Oreos it was clearly imperative that we get that recycle bin out. And now there was a restored hope that we would prevail! Getting ready for work and whatever Jennie was doing was put on hold when I yelled for Jennie that the truck was coming back. In some sort of confusion as to why the recyclers, or the collectors for the recyclers, were back we go outside and ponder out loud what to do. They were stopped at our neighbors house so should we wave them down? Run down and ask if they would come back? Should we just take the bin and roll it down to them? So many options to sort out in a short period of time as now the truck was three houses down. And then it was decided. We were going to just roll it down and see what happened. We were on a mission to get this recycling out and we was going to succeed dang it! Either that or fail... we'd have to wait and see.
So Jennie took the job of rolling while I supported her from behind. We got a slightly weird, but friendly enough look from the passenger of the truck, but they took it for us. Success! With the added bonus of none of our neighbors peering out at us running down the street. I don't think...
What do you suppose this blog is about? It's about time for me to post my blog on my meet and greet with Clay? True.... and it's almost done. It's about time to move to NYC? True... and we're getting closer. It's about time to... [insert something else that may be true but is not what this blog is about].
This blog is about my apparent lack of observation and other such appropriate term you would like to add after you read this.
Now, for the most part I've always considered myself to be pretty observant. For example, Clay Aiken fans are very good at taking video of concerts, while Jonas Brothers fans are very much not. Fine, that's not really a good example, if it even IS an example, but it's true and I just wanted to state that. Anyhoo. We'll just get to the point as I have a feeling this is going to turn into a long blog.
The title of the Jonas Brothers first studio album is "It's About Time". It was a very limited release and I've found it impossible to find for purchase so I really hope they re-release it someday. After listening to it I kind of wondered why the title is "It's About Time" because, as the majority of artists title their album from one of the songs on the record, there is no song on the CD by that title. So I thought, maybe it was the fact that it was about time they got a full studio album out for sale. Or that they finally got their band together. Something along those lines. Whatever it was I let it go and enjoyed the CD.
Text message from Susette....
April 15th 2011, 7:21 AM
"... their album it's about time? I just now put together that almost every song actually talks about time. So the album is literally about time."
Ok, I can't even take credit for figuring this out! Let me take you through the album and you'll see. Feel free to skip the below section as I'm sure most of you don't care.
So. "It's About Time". Here are some lines that could easily be picked up on. Or maybe no line in the song is even needed in some cases...
1. What I Go To School For - First line of the song, "Her voice echoed in my mind, I count the days 'til she is mine".
2. Time For Me To Fly - Hello obvious.
3. Year 3000 - Hello even more obvious - the song is about time travel.
4. One Day At A Time - Is anyone sensing a theme here?
5. 6 Minutes - again... the title of the song is 6 minutes. I'm feeling incredibly dense.
6. Mandy - Maybe not obvious in the title but again in the first line of the song - "Mandy USED to be that girl, the one that never said a word, but she only sang 'S Club 7', and all those boy bands. Now it's been a few years, it looks like things have changed."
7***. You Just Don't Know It - Ok, these guys are awesome. Seriously. This song is actually NOT about time. The one exception. And from the chorus it was done on purpose. How do you know it was done on purpose? The chorus ends with,
"I go on and on, singing this song about you.
AND THAT'S WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS SONG."
8. I Am What I Am - Ok, I'm not even going to quote anything. The song is about being who you are, in the present and in the future. (No time travel though so maybe not so obvious?)
9. Underdog - the song is about a girl who is presently an underdog, but one day she may change the world... the last will be first... maybe she'll be in the movies, etc, etc.
10. 7:05 - Again, hello Captain Obvious.
11. Please Be Mine - A few examples from the song. But I'll be there forever.... All our hopes and our dreams will come true.... 'Til the end, the end of time.
/CD
See what I mean? Why did it take a month to come to this conclusion? It's ridiculously obvious. Maybe even more so if you're actually listening to the songs. Or maybe it's the other way around. Either way, I love these guys. Of course artists and bands often stick to a certain theme in an album, but I have yet to come upon one where it is done so literally. Maybe it's because each song is so unique and different. Note to self, if the title of the album is NOT one of the songs on the CD listen more closely!
In other news, I can now play a few chords and Mary Had A Little Lamb on the guitar. By next week I hope to play the song "Introducing Me" from the movie "Camp Rock 2". Nick Jonas plays and sings it (although did not write it as it was done by the music person for the movie). Below is a video to demonstrate the skills I'll hopefully have by my next blog.
Did I mention Clay fans are way better at taking video?
I regret, but not really, that I must interrupt my Clay roadtrip blogs to wish Susette and myself a Happy one month Jonas-a-versary. What is a Jonas-a-versary you ask? Well, it's basically the same as an anniversary. Or a friendaversary. Or some say friend-a-versary. It is googleable so it's a completely valid term. As for a Jonas-a-versary, we are celebrating our one month fandom to the Jonas Brothers.
It begins through some text messages from Susette while she was home sick watching Netflix and a "recommend" came up after she had finished a movie.
That recommend was the Disney TV series "Jonas". Two very important text messages follow:
March 9, 2011 3:11 pm
"I'm watching Jonas. The tv show the brothers by that name have apparently. Lol it is... bad. Lol but entertaining :-)"
March 9, 2011 5:37 pm
"K. So I have a feeling you'd like this Jonas show. Lol"
March 10, 2011
I gain exclusive access to Netflix so I can watch said TV show "Jonas".
March 11, 2011
A new chapter in my life begins. The Jonas Brothers made an appearance on my computer screen for the first time.
Actually that's not entirely true. They had made an appearance when they made a cameo on a Hannah Montana episode but I didn't know who they were at the time and I didn't give it a second thought to find out. I suppose I figured it was a boy band aimed towards tweens and not worth the time.
So there, or here, I was watching this silly TV series about these guys that call themselves the Jonas Brothers. I had to admit, the music was kind of catchy. So it was time to google. And youtube. And wikipedia. And youtube. And youtube.
I would like to put for the record. Clay Aiken has the voice and is undeniable in that department of talent; and for that I'm sure his blogs will remain numerous. No getting out of that one. ;-) But then you have the Jonas Brothers, who are in fact brothers. They play their own instruments, they write their own songs, they actually wrote and recorded their third studio album on a bus (courtesy of Gibson) while on tour with their second album.
The question: How did I miss this great talent until one month ago? With four studio albums, world tours, a TV series, two movies (Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2), obviously plenty of talk shows.... what happened?
The answer: I have no idea. At. all.
So this past month I've been catching up on all that I've missed. You may not believe this, because it actually is quite unbelievable, but I haven't listened to much of anything, not even Clay!, for the past month. Ok, scratch that. I don't want to lie. I haven't listened to anything but Jonas for the past month.
Tomorrow will be past my one month mark of constant Jonas though so maybe I'll shuffle in more music on my iphone. Maybe. Probably not tomorrow.
In other news, thanks to Jonas (credit given mostly to Nick), I have been inspired to once and for all learn the guitar. My fingers have been in much pain writing this blog....
Don't you like how I made you wait for this blog? It's just like I had to wait 7 months for my concerts. I'll try to find a worthy excuse for delays of future postings if necessary.
My first concert was in Houston. It was fun to be able to have my sister there with me. Since she was more there for the visiting part and enjoyment of the concert and not for the excitement of meeting Clay she kinda ended up with the job Clay once dubbed as an "enabler". But that comes later. I know you're excited to hear about it but patience my friend.
Our journey started out with the uneventful drive to Houston. Linda again drove because it's, well, Texas. Just go with it.
Our first stop was Azur Salon to get my hair beautified for the nights event. It was a nice salon and I would go back if it weren't for the four hour drive. That and it was incredibly overpriced for a style that fell within hours. Ridiculous.
We stayed at the Lancaster Hotel which was nice, and a perfect location... Directly across from the theater. Naturally I wanted to find the tour bus because that's just what you do before a Clay concert. I think. It's all about preparing. We didn't have to look long. Our view from the window gave it away.
Yep.
So we checked in, got ready, cursed the guy that did my hair, and went for food. It was almost time to meet our group for the meet and greet! Almost....
Before my seven months of waiting for my concert series to end I had to do a little touring of San Antonio first. Not that I did this during my seven months of waiting. No no. I waited until my sister, Linda, got in town the day before my concert in Houston. This was so when I got lost I could just use the "touring" excuse as a reason for why I didn't know where I was at. Or, as it turned out, I just had Linda drive everywhere. This being her first visit to San Antonio it made perfect sense.
Some highlights:
Thrift store. A thrift store is a highlight? It's true. I would tell you the name of it and where it's located but so sad I don't remember that part. The point being is this was not your average Goodwill where they sort everything by color and well, good luck. You had your "better" clothes and everything was sorted by size. Actually, I think this made my "highlight" list because I got a really nice skirt for $3.50. Along with the, er, interesting customers.
Facebook check-in number 1:
San Antonio's famous Riverwalk.
It was my second visit to the Riverwalk and I'm not going to lie. I enjoy it as much as others but I don't quite understand why it's on the "must see" places in the United States list. That is to say if there was such a list. Or is there?
Although...
Facebook check-in number 2:
"The County Line" barbequerestaurant on the Riverwalk. Sitting down to eat in the beautiful weather did make a difference in the enjoyment of the trip. One got to enjoy the atmosphere a little more. Plus, there was the bird. Not to be confused with the bird being beautiful. I think Linda would not appreciate such a remark. The bird...
Do you see him? Because he saw us...
Supposedly Linda has a thing with birds pooping near or around or on her. I didn't get the specifics of that story but I let our waiter know it was her fault for his having to clean bird poo off the table. Or I should have maybe.
Facebook check-in number 3:
The tower of the Americas.
There's a restaurant up there with an amazing chocolaty goodness lava cake. A-mazing-ing. The cheesecake was unfortunately not.
Facebook check-in number 4:
The Alamo
I've been to the Alamo before as well but of course everyone visiting San Antonio must go tour the historical site. Naturally, I was incredibly excited to visit again as I was pretty positive the building may have been redecorated or something fun like that. Surprisingly though it hadn't. Hmm. The trip didn't last long though as we got there right as they were making the announcement that they would be closing the building in five minutes. Being the history buff that I'm not I was totally bummed. It ruined my whole day I tell you! Or not really. Whichever.
Facebook check-in number....
Home! Time for bed. I had to get my beauty rest for Clay in Houston... on Valentine's Day!
It's actually very intriguing looking back at the history of the making of ten days of vacation; which as the followers of facebook might have noticed that vacationing ended at 12:01 this morning. And when I say "this morning" I mean whatever day I started writing this blog. I suppose 2-22-11? Actually it was more like 1:30 in the morning because I had to finish watching Karate Kid before going to bed. Great movie by the way.
The facts are these:
The mid year of 2010 brought news to the Claynation. Wait, I'm sorry, I should have mentioned this was going to be another Clay Aiken blog. But before you stop reading I promise there is other noteworthy material for those who are not fans and are tired of reading blogs dedicated to Clay. Anyhoo. Facts.
It was brought to our attention that Clay would be appearing on a PBS special in many cities. Awesome right? Yes, yes it was. It was then found that some PBS stations had several packages to pledge for. One such package for some channels was for two tickets for a concert and two meet and greet passes. For obvious reasons we all know that there was an upcoming tour now right?
Which brings us to July 27th when I get an email from a lady in Cleveland Ohio about group sale tickets for a Clay Aiken concert on February 19th at the Palace Theater. At that time I was still living in Ohio so of course I would be interested in tickets! Response and deposit sent and the continuation of emails and updates on the Cleveland concert would continue through to February 18th 2011.
Then enters Pittsburgh. I have several friends that I've been "talking" with for years now on a message board. Conversation started and it was decided that Pittsburgh was a good meeting ground for those that could make the trip. With that in mind I purchased my tickets for that concert on August 24th. I got my tickets via email and first concert was set!
Well, as it turned out I decided that I would be moving back to Texas in September. With that knowledge a new opportunity arose. I had missed the PBS special in my area but it just so happened that the Houston show had not aired. On September 8th 2010, from the comfort of my room in Columbus, Ohio I called the PBS station in Houston, Texas. Obviously I couldn't see the show or know what kind of things they had pledging so I kindly informed the PBS lady that I was out of town (very out of town) and was wondering what packages they had. They had this, this and this. And I not at all quickly decided on the 2 concert tickets and 2 meet and greet passes. Being that I've wanted to meet Clay since 2005 it was a hard decision to make I can assure you. Or not...
So in the end, or the beginning, as of September 8th, before I even moved to Texas, I was set to have two concert tickets to Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. And of course two meet and greet tickets for Houston. This was panning out to be the best concert series I've ever been to!
So between July 27th-September 8th planning was taking place. There would be tweaks here and there before the concerts but for the most part it was time to wait.....
