Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. The day that I am supposed to acknowledge all that I am thankful for.
But today? Today is my day to acknowledge the crappy last few days that I have had.
Last week, I had car troubles. Took the car to get fixed, spent a little over $200 to "fix" it, then got stuck in Seattle and had the car towed 45 miles or so.
Monday was the worst though. It snowed heavily on Monday and I live on top of a series of hills. I got stuck. Royally stuck. About a foot from hitting the car parked by the sidewalk behind me. Finally got home 4 1/2 hours later.
Still working on the details of the posts for the above mentioned "mishaps". Suffice it to say, this week has sucked. Hopefully, I will have a fun happy post for you tomorrow!
Anyone else want to vent about their shitty lives at the moment? Now is the time to do so.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
U-S-H-E-R-R-A-Y-M-O-N-D
Went to the Usher concert on Wednesday night. AMAZING! It was quite the eventful night outside of the concert itself.
I left work at lunch in order to get some last minute accessories and to ensure I had enough time to get ready. Concert was at 7:30 and dinner with the girls around 5:30 meant I had to leave my house at 4:00.
I got a text from John around 2:30 letting me know that his first bus didn't arrive so he was going to be late. Damn. I continued getting ready and got another text at 3:30 telling me that traffic is at a standstill and he isn't going to be home until 5:30 or 6:00. CRAP! Unfortunately, this means that I won't be able to ride down to Seattle with my girlfriends and could possibly miss dinner altogether. My adorable friend Lauren was genuinely disappointed that I wouldn't make it for the ride down to Seattle.
My only other option was to take my daughter over to my brother's house, which is five minutes away, hoping my mom, who lives with my brother, will be home from work soon (my brother was going to the concert too, so he was not an option). At this point, I had resigned myself to going to the concert all by my lonesome, which sucked because half the fun is the drinks and dinner with the girls, right?
So imagine my elation when I spot Grandma's car already parked in the driveway! Whoo hoo! I was just at a rolling stop before I shoved my precious daughter out of the car.
Ok, the concert. Again, it was AMAZING! I went with three girlfriends: Lauren, Anna and Suzie. Sadly, we had pretty awful seats and we tried to prepare by bringing binoculars, which we ended up forgetting in the car (the binoculars was a whole other debacle). Our seats were so far from the stage that Anna said, "We need binoculars just to see the big screen!" We were also overdressed for that part of the arena. In Suzie's words, "We should have just come in sweatpants and sneakers." To top it off, we were so high up and so steep that when I would get up to dance later on in the night, my legs would be so tense with the fear of falling! I was slightly sore the following day!
The opening act was Miguel:
I have never heard of him, but Lauren knew of his song All I Want is You. I missed most of his performance trying to figure out a way to get the binoculars from the car. On the way back to our seats, Lauren heard him yell to the crowd, "Los Angeles, let me hear you scream!" Uh, don't you mean Seattle?! Whatever.
After Miguel was done there was a break. During the break, the DJ was playing some awesome old school that I must download. The next opening act was Trey Songz and I was looking forward to seeing him, but come on, he is no Usher. Imagine my surprise when a countdown clock came on the screen starting at five minutes and the crowd went nuts! Everyone around me (my girls had left to get some drinks) had stood up screaming for him. Am I missing something? Ok, Mr. Steal-Your-Girl had a great body that he showed off and some singing chops, but again, no Usher. Trey Songz's performance was pretty good and there were some really good video montages that played, but I was ready for the main event!
The lights went down and the stage was lit up. Usher's voice came over the loudspeakers but he was nowhere on the stage. The crowd was pretty loud, but they really lit up once Usher was spotted on a platform to the back of the arena (yes, by my section!). The platform was then raised by harnesses and Usher hovered over the crowd on the floor seats. I was terrified of plummeting to my death in the seats we were in, I can't imagine having to be suspended on a platform by what looked to be four teeny tiny strings!
Lauren was a bit disappointed with Usher's appearance: slim fitting pants and a longer tuft of hair up top. Suzie, on the other hand, couldn't stop saying how hot he looked. Me? I didn't mind the pants, but the hair was not so good.
The choreography was one of my favorite parts of the show. It was sexy without being raunchy (ok, some raunch, but that is ok by me) and it always amazes me how the female dancers can do what they do in heels. I can't do choreographed dance for anything (my body doesn't like to be told what to do), but everytime I see dancers on the stage, I feel like I missed my calling from another life.
There was a point in the concert where an audience member was picked to go on stage with Usher. The girl was smokin' hot. All I remember about her were her pants. They were black and shredded to the thigh. Something like this, but with more skin showing (like, a lot more skin showing):
Usher was really playing to the crowd with this bit. Totally toying with the Shredded Pants Girl. He ended up on top of her, between her legs, which he had to guide. Now, I don't know about you, but my legs would've instinctively clamped onto that man! At the end of the routine, Shredded Pants Girl was straddling Usher and I just about fainted. That man is so sexy.
Usher sang a lot of his old hits, which was what Lauren was looking forward to. He did a chair routine that mimicked his My Way video and he put on some roller shoes like he used in the U Don't Have To Call video (well, at least that's what I thought it was. He made a big deal about the shoes but I don't recall him actually rolling anywhere). But we were very disappointed when he did a quick five minute mash-up of the songs from Confessions. That is probably my favorite album of his and it lasted no longer than the blink of an eye. But that is the only complaint I have. Well, there was also the random canon sounds that scared me.
Usher ended with OMG, complete with pyrotechnics and lights. Perfect ending to a nearly flawless concert.
I found out that Wednesday's concert kicked off his OMG Tour and I was excited to know we were among the first to see this concert. If he is coming to a town near you, it really is a concert worth seeing. My recommendation would be to splurge on the floor seating and don't forget to wear your shredded black leggings.
I left work at lunch in order to get some last minute accessories and to ensure I had enough time to get ready. Concert was at 7:30 and dinner with the girls around 5:30 meant I had to leave my house at 4:00.
I got a text from John around 2:30 letting me know that his first bus didn't arrive so he was going to be late. Damn. I continued getting ready and got another text at 3:30 telling me that traffic is at a standstill and he isn't going to be home until 5:30 or 6:00. CRAP! Unfortunately, this means that I won't be able to ride down to Seattle with my girlfriends and could possibly miss dinner altogether. My adorable friend Lauren was genuinely disappointed that I wouldn't make it for the ride down to Seattle.
My only other option was to take my daughter over to my brother's house, which is five minutes away, hoping my mom, who lives with my brother, will be home from work soon (my brother was going to the concert too, so he was not an option). At this point, I had resigned myself to going to the concert all by my lonesome, which sucked because half the fun is the drinks and dinner with the girls, right?
So imagine my elation when I spot Grandma's car already parked in the driveway! Whoo hoo! I was just at a rolling stop before I shoved my precious daughter out of the car.
Ok, the concert. Again, it was AMAZING! I went with three girlfriends: Lauren, Anna and Suzie. Sadly, we had pretty awful seats and we tried to prepare by bringing binoculars, which we ended up forgetting in the car (the binoculars was a whole other debacle). Our seats were so far from the stage that Anna said, "We need binoculars just to see the big screen!" We were also overdressed for that part of the arena. In Suzie's words, "We should have just come in sweatpants and sneakers." To top it off, we were so high up and so steep that when I would get up to dance later on in the night, my legs would be so tense with the fear of falling! I was slightly sore the following day!
The opening act was Miguel:
 |
| Image found on www.hoodrellic.com |
 |
| Image found on The Den of Snakeyes blog |
The lights went down and the stage was lit up. Usher's voice came over the loudspeakers but he was nowhere on the stage. The crowd was pretty loud, but they really lit up once Usher was spotted on a platform to the back of the arena (yes, by my section!). The platform was then raised by harnesses and Usher hovered over the crowd on the floor seats. I was terrified of plummeting to my death in the seats we were in, I can't imagine having to be suspended on a platform by what looked to be four teeny tiny strings!
Lauren was a bit disappointed with Usher's appearance: slim fitting pants and a longer tuft of hair up top. Suzie, on the other hand, couldn't stop saying how hot he looked. Me? I didn't mind the pants, but the hair was not so good.
The choreography was one of my favorite parts of the show. It was sexy without being raunchy (ok, some raunch, but that is ok by me) and it always amazes me how the female dancers can do what they do in heels. I can't do choreographed dance for anything (my body doesn't like to be told what to do), but everytime I see dancers on the stage, I feel like I missed my calling from another life.
There was a point in the concert where an audience member was picked to go on stage with Usher. The girl was smokin' hot. All I remember about her were her pants. They were black and shredded to the thigh. Something like this, but with more skin showing (like, a lot more skin showing):
 |
| Found at Discount Women's Dress Shoes |
Usher sang a lot of his old hits, which was what Lauren was looking forward to. He did a chair routine that mimicked his My Way video and he put on some roller shoes like he used in the U Don't Have To Call video (well, at least that's what I thought it was. He made a big deal about the shoes but I don't recall him actually rolling anywhere). But we were very disappointed when he did a quick five minute mash-up of the songs from Confessions. That is probably my favorite album of his and it lasted no longer than the blink of an eye. But that is the only complaint I have. Well, there was also the random canon sounds that scared me.
Usher ended with OMG, complete with pyrotechnics and lights. Perfect ending to a nearly flawless concert.
I found out that Wednesday's concert kicked off his OMG Tour and I was excited to know we were among the first to see this concert. If he is coming to a town near you, it really is a concert worth seeing. My recommendation would be to splurge on the floor seating and don't forget to wear your shredded black leggings.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Honorable Mention!
I had a mini OMG moment! Again, it is one of those times where I win nothing of substantial value. I didn't even win the contest. But recognition for something really got my heart palpitating. Janet Reid held a contest to win Betsey Lerner's The Forest for the Trees. I had actually already bought a copy of the book when she first mentioned it, but entered the contest for fun anyway.
On Saturday, she announced the winner and some honorable mentions. Guess who was listed under "Nicely done stories"?!?!?! ME!
I was just skimming all the honorable mentions and saw "Melanie 4:53 pm". Could it really be? There are tons of Melanies following her blog, I am sure. But when did I post my submission?! I quickly skimmed the submissions on the original post and wouldn't you know it. I sure did submit mine at 4:53 pm!
Like I said, I didn't win anything, but just knowing I was on the radar for something really did it for me. I am complete. Well, for the day anyway!
The rules were:
- Tell a story in 100 words or less.
- You must use these words: Paris, Kids, Cullen, Loathing, Temple.
If you were a smart cookie and could guess what the words had in common, you get bonus points. Of course, once I saw the word "Cullen" I could think of nothing else but Twilight. So, I didn't even try to guess what the answer was. But here is my "Nicely done story":
“What are those pale kids supposed to be?” Mother wondered, tapping her finger to her temple.
“Vampires.” I responded, loathing this wretched holiday and wishing I were in Paris.
“But they don’t have any fangs! You can’t be a vampire without any fangs!”
“They are probably from the Cullen clan; the ones from those wildly popular but highly criticized books. They don’t have fangs.”
Mother opens the door and steps outside.
“What are you doing?” I yelled at her.
“Getting my candy back! That is an incomplete costume! You can’t pretend to be a vampire without any fangs.”
Ok, thanks for letting me brag for a quick minute. I promise my head will deflate now. I honestly do realize that I didn't win the contest. Nor was I even a finalist. But whatevs.
On Saturday, she announced the winner and some honorable mentions. Guess who was listed under "Nicely done stories"?!?!?! ME!
I was just skimming all the honorable mentions and saw "Melanie 4:53 pm". Could it really be? There are tons of Melanies following her blog, I am sure. But when did I post my submission?! I quickly skimmed the submissions on the original post and wouldn't you know it. I sure did submit mine at 4:53 pm!
Like I said, I didn't win anything, but just knowing I was on the radar for something really did it for me. I am complete. Well, for the day anyway!
The rules were:
- Tell a story in 100 words or less.
- You must use these words: Paris, Kids, Cullen, Loathing, Temple.
If you were a smart cookie and could guess what the words had in common, you get bonus points. Of course, once I saw the word "Cullen" I could think of nothing else but Twilight. So, I didn't even try to guess what the answer was. But here is my "Nicely done story":
“What are those pale kids supposed to be?” Mother wondered, tapping her finger to her temple.
“Vampires.” I responded, loathing this wretched holiday and wishing I were in Paris.
“But they don’t have any fangs! You can’t be a vampire without any fangs!”
“They are probably from the Cullen clan; the ones from those wildly popular but highly criticized books. They don’t have fangs.”
Mother opens the door and steps outside.
“What are you doing?” I yelled at her.
“Getting my candy back! That is an incomplete costume! You can’t pretend to be a vampire without any fangs.”
Ok, thanks for letting me brag for a quick minute. I promise my head will deflate now. I honestly do realize that I didn't win the contest. Nor was I even a finalist. But whatevs.
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