the concert dilemma

If you know me well, which I guess is a stupid assumption cuz not many ppl actually read this lest my *cough* friends… anyway, then you’ll know how much I love wasting all my minimum wage income on concerts. Now, there are a few predicaments i face everytime from purchasing tickets to standing in line and finally watching the show.

In order to get first dibs on tix, I am a subscriber to multiple websites, which send me loads of crap about their website, when really, I just want the presale passwords and nothing else (just something to think about if you run a website that gives away presale passwords). Alright, so the concerts which are not general admission (which I have to add, are for pansies – thats right, pansies), I find myself in this dilemma:

[Alright, enter presale password, Row 5 seats 1 and 2... two minutes remain, click to purchase.]
“Row 5 not bad, not bad…wait…what if the ‘on-sale to public’ releases seats in row 4 or 3 or 2?” (never row 1 cuz thats for the ballers that can drop a few benjamins for VIP meet and greets, early entrance, etc. – i’m not bitter by the way). Where was I? Right, so I’m faced with this predicament to buy or wait.

For general admission venues, I must admit I’m the loser that is waiting outside Commodore at 3 in the afternoon just so I can be the first to get in. But the thing is when I get in I’m like, should I go purchase my concert merch now cuz they tend to run out of any size other than XL (c’mon merch ppl, don’t you think you should make a few more smaller sizes if you keep running out? Just a thought), or should I get to the front of the stage? And by the way, concert merch is a predicament in itself. Do I really need a $40 band t-shirt? How else will I prove that I went to see Jimmy Eat World. I have to get it.

Then when I make it to the very front of the stage, it takes an hour before the opener begins, and if you’re fall out boy, you apparently need 4 opening bands. That means approximately 3 hours of holding in your $4 cola, just so the tween girls with converse shoes and wrist bands next to you won’t pounce for your spot at the slightest opportunity. Not being mean if you are a tween with converse shoes. I am in fact a young adult with converses and yes I do own wrist bands but i don’t wear them to concerts cuz it gets really hot so why would you want something covering you wrist that makes it more hot…i’m rambling. Ignore that.

I have to say, the most difficult decision I made, which was not so much a decision as I was on the verge of passing out was during a long long long opening by rancid that I had to survive before Rise Against took the stage. Being slammed into the barricade dozens upon dozens of times with possible broken ribs and being squeezed to the point that my appendix was ready to burst or my lungs ready to collapse, I signalled for security to rescue me – which really is just a few large dudes dragging me out by whatever means possible aka whatever body part they can grab, which evidently turned out to be the most awkward position Ive ever been in. Oh ya, I lost a shoe and broke my bra from that. Don’t even ask :S 

Sigh, despite all the craziness, the injuries, and the tough tough decisions, I still love concerts and RISE AGAINST ROCKS! What are your most memorable/horrible concert experiences?

nyc part 2 – close encounters of the celebrity kind

As promised, part 2 of my New York trip will outline celebrity sightings and run-in’s yay. I want to start off this posting with the one and only Marilyn Monroe. Beautiful and enigmatic – there’s something about movie stars from the 1950s that catches my attention like nothing else. Don’t even get me started on my fav rebel, Mr. James Dean. I love him.

Okay, okay, I cheated. Y’all don’t want to see pictures of pictures of famous people. You want the candid perez hilton goods. In all seriousness, I did run into a few celebs. Well, I don’t know if you would call Jerry Springer a celebrity, but I did catch him acting in Chicago on Broadway. And truth be told, he wasn’t bad – quite a bit older than I remember, but then again, I was watching his show on summer breaks during elementary school. He was quite friendly, taking time to sign autographs and take photos with his adoring fans.

Earlier that day, while walking along the very busy Fifth Avenue, Howie Mandel was spotted walking and talking with a buddy. Either I am easily impressed or New Yorkers really don’t care much about game show hosts because no one bothered to stop him. Maybe everyone was too preoccupied with the giant Tiffany’s store – I know I was.

One of the coolest things I went to during my trip was the US Open. I grew up watching tennis with my dad, who is a huge fan, so seeing it live was very special to me. Arthur Ashe Stadium is huge, just drop-dead spectacular. Wish I had gotten there earlier though, because it seemed like there was a lot going on throughout the day. Geez louise, security checks for everything beginning at the airport, to museums, libraries, and of course, sporting events. Anyway, getting tickets for opening night, I had the priviledge of listening to Andre Agassi speak, Rob Thomas sing the national anthem, and watching two matches, one with Venus Williams, the other, Andy Roddick. Scattered among the spectators was a super model and a soccer star.

And last but not least, while walking to the MET, I encountered a large crowd of people – some of which looked like the photogs with crazyass telephoto lens’ you see in the background of all TMZ footage. Of course, I had to follow. Turns out it was day one of filming for Sex and the City 2. Although the sun was baking my back, and the security people wouldn’t budge, I managed to get one picture that you can vaguely recognize (or not) Carrie Bradshaw, aka Sarah Jessica Parker. Here it is…

I can’t imagine how any television show *ahem* Gossip Girl or movie can film in such a busy city like New York. Seriously, it’s crazy. In addition to tabloid people and fans, the thousands of taxi’s honking and tour buses going by is just madness. Props to them nyc film crews.

newyork newyork – Part 1

Oy! That is the first word (or sound) that comes to mind when I think about New York. Total sensory overload and I love it. I don’t even know where to begin because everything there was a unique experience – seriously! I’m not just being a dork. And despite what many people say about newyorkers being rude, everyone there was so helpful and friendly, from helping take pictures to offering to give directions (I guess I have the best lost look because more than once, someone walking a dog or something would say, “where are you trying to go”?)

But back to being a dork, I am a sucker for popular culture so I had a mental list (which I failed to mention to my travel companions) of little things I wanted to see just so that I can say I saw it. One of which was riding the 6 train. Yes, the one J.Lo rode back in the day from the Bronx into Manhattan.

Ladies, you may think I’m crazy, but I spent a large portion of my time at museums instead of shopping. MoMA was the first museum I visited. Probably the easiest to navigate out of the MET, Museum of Natural History and Guggenheim. I don’t know that much about art YET, so MoMA was kind of perfect. It had lots of Andy Warhol, van Gogh and Picasso – the super famous stuff that any art-challenged individuals like myself will have heard of.

Yes I saw the cans

If you have not seen Breakfast at Tiffany’s, go rent it or buy it (please don’t download, I do not approve). Audrey Hepburn practically put Tiffany’s on the map so if you are wondering why that little blue box is such a big deal, watch the movie, then go to New York and step into the store. It is magical.

And speaking of magical, do we have any Sleepless in Seattle fans? I visited the Empire State Building at midnight. The view, obviously, is spectacular as hell. Oh how I love a good old 90′s Tom Hanks romance film – set around the holidays – even better.

The next day I walked around the Upper East side, and visited Central Park. Although I was hoping to find the location in Cruel Intentions *SPOILER ALERT*, at the end where Sebastian gets hit by a cab, the area was way too huge.

View from the top - literally (taken from atop the MET)

Stay tuned for Part 2 – celeb sightings!

All Hail Joss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve never played dungeons and dragons or watched an episode of Star Trek for that matter, but the inner geek in me lives thanks to a genius of a man named Joss Whedon. Joss is the brain behind what I like to call the best shows on the planet – Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and my most recent addiction, Dollhouse.

Dollhouse is unfortunately aired on Fox (they tend to axe many a great shows – John Doe, Fastlane, Tru Calling, Reunion, etc.) but fortunately has been picked up for a second season. I’ve tried explaining the concept to many of my friends, but can’t quite seem to do it correctly. This may be due to the originality, complexity, and awesomeness of Joss’ show. In any case, I’m just gonna say that it rocks and you can find a synopsis anywhere on the net.

Yes, there is a large creative team that Joss works with and a handful of talented actors that make his shows work, but damn, this guy is good. I am a self-proclaimed TV addict and I have never invested so many hours watching, re-watching and and analyzing his shows.  I’m pretty sure its not just me as there are unprecedented numbers of sites and fan fiction dedicated to the Buffyverse and I assume Angel and probably Dollhouse soon too. Still, I can’t quite figure out what makes Buffy and Angel and Dollhouse better than any other TV show out there.

Many tears were shared in those days where I would completely lose myself in the Buffy world. A geek to the core, I can probably answer all of your Buffy trivia and recite the dialogue to many episodes . Believe it or not, I even own the CD for the season 6 musical episode, Once More With Feeling. If you have not discovered this wonderful piece of art, go! now! I don’t want to reminisce here about favourite episodes because it should be seen from beginning to end in its entirety for the full Whedon effect. However, any fans that want to discuss, message me. Trust me when I say I can talk about these shows for long, and unhealthly lengths of time.

My Summer Fads

Lately, I’ve been feeling oddly inspired to try new things. This is not necessarily a good thing. I tend to have a knack for getting really excited about something, going out and buying it, then being discouraged, and leaving it in my already cluttered room to collect dust. What you ask is on my most recent list of ‘new thing I’m gonna learn’ ? Well, there are my skateboards (a complete I got at West 49 and an old school Tony Alva one I shipped from Cali), and  my guitars (both acoustic and electric). Excessive? Yes. Potential to great things with? Also yes.

Is it really true that it’s easiest to pick up new things – instrument, sport, language - as a kid, or have I just been lazy and using that excuse way too often? In any case with school rolling up, I won’t have as much time to discover any hidden talents, so instead, here I am blogging for the first time (don’t think my communication course assignment that used blogspot really counted). Being a Communication student and all, I thought this would be a more proper and relevant use of my time. Let’s see if this will stick, or feel free to put a wage on how long it’ll take for me to get discouraged.

Perhaps posting a comment may give my ego a boost