Life has defeated me

The 3,000 Miles: Day 6

We've finally made it to Los Angeles! Technically, we made it in on Saturday, but it's been a busy couple of days.

Joe drove the whole way from Wilcox to Los Angeles and again, we traveled through sixty-five million different sights.

We saw craggily rocks and high peaked mountains, but also: orange tree farms and a windmill farm! I know that California is very pro green energy, but it was startling how big and expansive the windmill farms were.

(Some of the windmills)

On the way out of Arizona, we stopped at a rest stop that had trees with green trunks! There was also a sign saying to stay on the path because there were poisonous snakes and insects around. I also saw a lizard dude. hahaha

(Green trunks!)

We got Joe a U-Haul so he could load his stuff and her sister's stuff to his apartment out here.

Ali and I returned to her place and began searching for a new apartment. The going for that has been rough, lots of places are charging a huge amount for deposit and then don't include anything!

But Ali's place has a pool and hot tub, which we've been taking advantage of while we can :)

We've also taken in a stray. Her name is Haley and she's a 22 yr old Second Core Member as well. 

I've only been here two days, but LA seems quieter than I was expecting. Maybe once I settle in and begin exploring and celebrity stalking, it will be more exciting. 

But on a whole, the trip was amazing and  one of the best moments of my life. We literally left a forest of greens and saw different ocean vastness and a crushing blankness only provided by sprawling deserts. 

The colors alone were worth the gas and hotel costs. Blue skies battle sea water for prettiest calming view. Dark mountain tops guarding over us told stories in greens and browns. The bright yellow sun shone on dusty reds.

It sounds cliche, but this trip was a once in a lifetime event and something everyone should have the chance to try.

(Some of the Marge Simpson cacti that are in every western movie ever made)

(Mountain guards)

The 3,000 Miles: Day 5

Volcanoes are the only natural disaster I have yet to survive thanks to yesterday's trip. As we were traveling through the barren desert to Wilcox, Arizona the car was hit by a "dust devil" or a mini dust storm.

(This one didn't hit us, but one of his brothers did. In New Mexico.)

Getting out of Texas and into New Mexico and Arizona was filled with cliche Texan things. We saw crumbling abandoned gas stations, coyotes (dead), wide sandy plains, oil drilling machines and cacti. Not the Marge Simpson kind, but little grounders.

(It's even flowering!)

The landscape changed dramatically too. We left urban San Antonio to mountains and cliff faces. Only to drive through deserts. Then back into the urban area of El Paso which gave way to New Mexico's nothingness deserts. 

I drove us into New Mexico and we had to stop and verify that we were American citizens. As a Mass liberal whose argued against The Fence, it was weird to be stopped. To be that close to the problem; giving new value to arguments.

The desert of New Mexico was beautiful in the only way Nature's harshness can be. The traffic was minimal, which only added to the sense of empty such large spaces provide.

In the far distance, mountains loomed, always watching but never reachable. The weather was so intense that he saw heat lightening, which is caused by extreme temperatures and high particle (like dust) count in the air. 

We stopped for food and Ali brought us to the hotel. There, after 12 hours of driving and two times changes (from Central to Mountain to Pacific), we hit the pool.

It was fantastic to just submerge myself in cool water as it was hot as balls the whole day. I'm certain I have a tan/burn on the nape of my neck.

After 30 minutes of swimming and relaxing, we walked across the street to a sit-down style Pizza Hut. We got pasta dishes and some booze from the gas station next door. 

Back in the room, we played drinking card games: Up The River, Golf, Drinking Old Maid and Blackjack. For Old Maid, the seven was the Old Maid for the first couple of games - it was creepily funny.

In Blackjack, Ali cheated somehow because she kept getting 21. Even though it was 9 p.m. Arizona time, for us it was 11 p.m. and we decided to go to sleep.

Climbing into my own bed, I snugged down to sleep through my buzz.

(A new friend, found at a Texan rest stop)

(These mountains aren't rocky, they're Davis! #jokes!)

(Cliff side in Texas somewhere on I-10. The rock is blue!)

The 3,000 miles: Day 4

Leaving New Orleans was hard. Not only was the city amazing, but we were also hungover and 6 a.m. is super early.

Ali and I got up and shambled about, packing like a zombie would. What I mean by that is that we'd mumble and creak our bones while pushing a shirt into a bag.

Joe, who was shit-faced last night, was the hardest to get up. He slept on the far left of his bed, and as Ali and I shook him, he'd roll away. He eventually rolled himself into a blanket burrito on the far right side.

But at 7 a.m. we were able to get on the road and headed to San Antonio. The first hour or so was traveling over waterways and while we didn't really get to see the bayou, it was great to see some of the famous swamp.

Once we were in Texas, it was just one long strip of highway. Five hundred and eighty-five miles on I-10. Somewhere among those miles, the radio was only able to pick up one station: bluesy country. 

I was driving (made it through Huston in one piece!) at this point and it began clear to me that this section of the trip was going to be the worst part. Flanked by wide open plains, we had left the area of sights behind us. It was rough.

But we made it to the city. I gave Joe and Ali the Vincent Warning before exiting the highway. 

When we reached the house, we had 4th of July BBQ, did laundry and discovered that Vincent had turned into a crazy dog man. hahhaha, he has four dogs!

Barbara was civil, which was expected. While Ali and Joe slept, I visited with my grandma. She told me stories from when she and my grandfather lived in Cali. and I told her about how Mass people. 

(Grandma and I)

But eventually, sleep's siren was to hard to ignore and I crashed.

Compared to the other days, this one was more relaxed and less eventful but nothing could replace seeing my grandma for the first time since my grandfather's funeral four years ago. 

The 3,000 Miles: Day 3

Day three was a first for me: the man I was sharing a bed with woke up screaming. 

Since each hotel is going to have two beds, and there are three of us and three hotels, we decided that each hotel someone would sleep alone. The other two would share.

Ali was the first to claim a bed, so Joe and I shared the other (Joe claimed the single for New Orleans and I get the single for Arizona!). 

During the middle of the night, Joe was whimpering and mumbling in his sleep, so I turned over to see if he was okay. Apparently, he was having a nightmare that the front desk clerk was murdering us and my movement surprised a shriek out of him.

I, still being sleepy, said eff this and went back to sleep. Five hours later, we hit the road. If Day 2's keyword was rain, then Day 3's driving could easily be called sunny.

The closer we got to New Orleans, the clearer the skies. The road also became a straight line contrasted to the curvy mountain roads of the Mid-Atlantic.

On the way we saw mist covered mountains, large lakes and rolling oceans. Here is my view from the back seat:

hahaha! With Joe doing 90% of the driving and Ali acting as Navigator, I've been in the backseat nook, which I like, but it prevents me from taking decent photos of some of the more amazing road sights. 

I did get to see them, just didn't get a photo.

The hotel in New Orleans was really nice. Gold coated faucet handles, a little courtyard with a fountain for three rooms to share, nice flower wallpaper that matched heavy silver curtains. The lobby had a chandelier.

Video to come.

But New Orleans! The nightlife is like nothing else. Roads were closed off to cars so that people can walk freely, you can have alcohol out in the open (as long as it's in a nonbreakable container), loud music and the heavy scent of food battle for attention. It's definitely something to experience.

We started our night with a stop in a bar, of course. I ordered a Long Island Iced Tea, but it was subpar. But since we weren't staying at the bar, I was able to carry it and drink slowly to the next place, a little southern pub. The food was warm (as in spicy), but it was delicious and worked with my glass of red wine.

At this point, I'm drunk. I'm drunk until the next morning.

After the pub, we headed to another bar (catch the pattern here?), where Ali and Joe got a Hand Grenade, "New Orleans' Most Powerful Drink." Loads of sugar, and alcohol for only $8 with refills at any of the Tropical Isle's spots. Some bars have little to-go sections just for this drink.

(The Hand Grenade)

After downing one, both Ali and Joe we're drunk (or close to it). We hit another bar, this one had a live band (Lov Sexy), that mostly covered songs from the 70's. Remember that I was drunk, so of course I danced.

When I was dirty dancing with an older woman (mid-forties), she took a dollar out and trailed it down my chest before shoving it into the waistband of my pants. At the time, I laughed it off and moved back to my friends.

Now I'm thinking, that I came pretty close to being something like a stripper. Another job I can check off my to do list.

I did use that woman's dollar to buy a tube shot, that didn't taste like alcohol so I'm sure it wasn't too bad.

We stayed in that bar for at least an hour drinking and dirty dancing. Joe "cut a rug" extremely well (he's got rhythm), and the bar started chanting, "Go white boy! Go white boy!"

It was hilarious. Once we started getting tired, we headed to another bar - with Joe saying he wanted to go to a strip club. Of course, once Ali and I starting walking into a strip club, Joe kept walking down the street.

We ended up in another bar with live music, but this time it was trailer park dudes singing 90's rock songs. I didn't like this bar as much, so I left and explored the area a little. Ten minutes later, I met up with Ali and Joe and we decided to split. 

Joe wanted to stay on the street, Ali wanted to go back to the hotel for a bit and I wanted to see the non-party side of New Orleans. I dropped Ali off before waking to a nearby park with light statues. 

However, I was still drunk and I didn't want to get lost so I turned back shortly. Ali called on my way back, wanting a hot dog, so I nabbed one for her and one for me.

Joe was back and clearly smashed when I returned. He tried to sit on the corner of the bed, only to fall to the floor. When we laughed, he decided to show us up by doing a rolling-flip thing that would have been impressive if only he didn't crumble forward two seconds after landing.

Ali and I laughed again (how could we not?). Joe stood up and declared that he was showering. I lied down to sleep, listening to the rushing water. The last thing I remember thinking was, I'll give Joe thirty minutes before I check on him fearing he might drown.

I fell asleep before the water stopped. (Spoiler alert: Joe did not drown. He's just slightly hungover.)

The 3,000 Miles: Day 2

The plan was to wake at 7 a.m. and leave Maryland at 8, 9 at the latest. But sleep's comforting hold kept us in bed until 9:15 a.m. 

We knew we were going to be a little late for Tennessee so we packed leisurely, determined to reorganize the back. My friend and her brood had to leave for work, so I left the present I brought for her on a dinning room chair and we locked the door. Maryland was beautiful and it was fantastic to see my friend. 

The traffic was much better than leaving New England, but the weather was depressing. It rained off and on, with a large portion of the 220 miles through Virginia and Tennessee were soaking.

  

(Some clouds forewarning intense rain)

It got so bad at one point that Joe, who did most of the driving, had to slow down to 15 mph and lean forward just to see the car in front of us. It was scary in the sense that an accident was a very real possibility.

I slept on and off for the ride to Knotsville, Tennessee. But I do remember seeing a lot of cows (Holy cows!) and open land. Some of the water towers were painted to reflect the town/county - apples, rainbows, music notes to name a few. And mountains flanking us on all sides.

Somewhere in those 220 miles it was decided that 90's music would be the road trip's soundtrack with Tracy Chapman's classics "Fast Car" and "Give Me A Reason" as the theme.

When we reached the hotel, it was decided that we wanted a warm meal curtsey of Quiznos. I got a small tuna and a small chicken bacon ranch flatbread for  $6. It was tasty and hit the spot.

After a little debating, we decided to forgo the pool in favor of showering and sleeping. The warm water was perfect to wash away two days of driving and much needed to relax everyone. 

Settling into bed, we watched "Teen Titans Go!" and "Jonny Test," shows promising poorly animated dreams. Cuddled in bed, I fell asleep by 9:45.

The 3000 Miles: Day 1

I write this as Joe speeds down the highway and Ali whole-heartedly sings with her "Songs of the 90's" playlist.

We are on a highway in Virgina for another 200 miles before the GPS will grant us the next direction. But this post is about yesterday's grand adventures, not today's sleepy ride.

Monday at 5 a.m. I hurried downstairs to the car. Ali is coming sometime between 7 and 8 and my mother, aunt, sister and cousin wanted to have one last breakfast at The Red Rooster, our favorite in town diner.

We drive the two streets to the Rooster to find that they're closed for holiday. Without stopping my mother drives is to Blue Moon, the breakfast joint downtown. They under renovations. We drive up the street to Paramount; the overcrowded Paramount.

We stop and try to think of other diners in our small city. The fifty's themed place jumps to mind and we coast towards it. The place doesn't open until 8. 

In a last ditch effort, we head to Gabby's across town; it's already 5:45 - we don't have much time. Gabby's is also closed for the holiday. It's decided that Dunkins will be my last breakfast in MA.

My mom turns the car around only to have my aunt see a sign proclaiming "2 eggs and toast for $3," on a building no one has had eaten in before.

We hesitantly enter and take seats near the door. The waitress greeted us with a smile and was very tentative to our needs. My omelet was delicious and I could tell the rest of the table found the same to be true for their meals.

We left with my mother and cousin discussing returning in a few days. At home, I said my final goodbye to my kitties and brought my stuff down to the curb to wait for Ali.

When Ali arrived, we loaded her tiny Hyundai Sonata to the brim with luggage and food; the only spot in the back a little nook. But we headed to Maryland ready for a road trip.

Everything was smooth as Ali drove out of town. Our first highway was Route 2 West and before thinking, I asked, "Why are taking West?" hahaha!

It wasn't until Conn. that we hit weather issues. There was a tornado and flash flood warning for our route. New York was easier, surprisingly smooth traffic but the New Jersay turn pike had been a huge delay. There was an overturned car blocking two (out of three) lanes. 

At this time, Joe was driving and later commented that it took three hours to drive six miles. 

We reached Maryland at 8:15 p.m. when our original arrival time was 4:00 p.m. But in Maryland we were able to stay with a friend I hadn't seen for two years. She had a bird's best, with baby chicks, right outside her front door. Her fiancée joined us for a late dinner of spicy chicken and salad. Quickly followed by shots of tequila.

Four shots in and I was drunk! The little party (comprised of myself, Ali, Joe, my friend, her fiancée, his sister and one of their friends) was loud with laughter and bonding. My friend and I sat on the couch and watched one episode of The Office before I passed out.

My friend and I

The chicks. They were adorably ugly.

Home

My brother is home for the weekend and it couldn't be a better time.
After hearing and seeing the tragedy that happened at the Boston Marathon, it's nice to have all of my family together.

-Joe

AWP ~ Day 3

Click here for Day 1 and Day 2.

The final day of the conference was on a Saturday and since we had been taking the train in, we had to miss the first panel because the times were different. Thankfully, it had stop snowing sometime during the night, so the sidewalks were mostly clean.The train ride was uneventful, considering Thursday and Friday's journey into the city.

The first panel we went to was "If These Walls Could Talk...Oh Wait, They Do!" and it was all about how setting can be a character in a story. Setting is one of those elements in a story where it's only given credit and thought about when it becomes crucial to the story. But I think setting can add a layer that strengthens the reader's emotional attachment to the characters and it shouldn't be overlooked. That being said, this panel felt like a into lesson to setting and as a writer, I'm passed into levels.

SAM and I decided to leave this panel and explore the sales room again. But this time we were on a mission to get business cards for promising looking lit journals and small presses. There is a system to working show rooms. You have to talk to the booth workers, smile constantly, and make yourself stand out in a crowd of thousands. More often than not, you have to loop around the showroom multiple times. That's not necessarily a bad thing; the second or third time around you can find something easily overlooked. Case in point, I got a free hair cut!

hahahaha. Yes, I let a stranger, whose career path is literature based, cut my hair. But that's one of the fun things about cons, doing something kinda crazy. Conventions should be fun and memorable while being educational.

After the hair cut we went to the Video Games, Fan Fiction & Comics: Alternative Genres as Legitimate Literature panel. The three panelist had done exceptional research on their topic and gave an in-depth look at how these types of media is often overlooked by lit snobs. All three have distinct, rich histories and it was really refreshing to see these genres being taken seriously as a form of literature. The only thing I was kind of disappointed with, was that it seemed like most of the audience members were people who already accept video games, comics and fanfic as a serious form.

The last panel we went to was Hating Your Writing: A Love Story. And this one was actually really helpful because I think it's a writer default to hate their writing or to second guess if something is ready to be called finished. Some helpful tips were: remember that one point it's less editing and more just changing, criticize constructively, and it's okay to write shit - sometimes you just gotta write.

I loved going to AWP and I hope to attend it again next time it's in Boston.


Love Always,
Joe

AWP 2013 ~ Day 2

Click here for Day 1.

Day 2

The snow was knee high as I chugged my way to the train stop. The night before, Sara and I had decided to catch the 8:05 train so we could attended the 9 o'clock panel. That was probably a mistake haha, but since the storm hadn't stopped once all night, the sidewalks were full and it was a legit journey to make it to the stop. I had to run to catch the train.

Because of the storm, there were less people on the train so it was easier to find seats together. On the way into Boston, we saw ice formed over some patches of swamp water. I'd never seen anything like that before, so it was kind cool to experience something new like that. The image of a ice chunks floating on bog water was creepy, cool and not something I want to forget. It was poetic. hahaha.

Any who, we got to the center at 9:15 so we were a little for the panel, "The Novel as Weapon: PEN Members on Book Banning & Censorship." Going in, I thought the panel would be about the dubious process of banning a book, but it was more "as a writer, you should do this..." kind of panel. I did get two pages of notes out of it though. The most interesting bits were beware of leaving out different opinions. Just because you support an issue - like no use of recreational drugs - doesn't mean you can't print something that's pro safe drug use. It's about finding a balance and letting the side be heard.

I did ask if the panels, a collection of editors and literary journal managers, if they had ever encountered something that they shouldn't be published and one of the editors said that once she read perfectly written but with questionable content; something that could have been rejected just to make her feel better. She then said she made sure to print it because it made her feel uncomfortable.

Next was poetry slam "Page Meets Stage." Poetry often gets treated like the red-headed stepchild of the literacy world, but these poets were amazing. Inspirational, funny, dirty, and all around amazing. Two stood on stage and recited poems to the audience, but almost as if they were talking to each other. It was breathe-taking and they stay in the room afterwards, taking photos and talking with us. I got a photo with Taylor Mali, Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz and talked with Aimee Nezhukumatathil. Martin Espada and Reginald Gibson were there as well, but I was not able to meet them.

Next was a panel about how to use Tumblr professionally. It gave some tips, but it was more useful in finding some single-serving tumblrs. After that panel was dinner where Sara and I shared a meal. A plate of sushi and a chicken teriyaki dinner.

Then it was time for speakers Alison Bechdel & Jeanette Winterson. Bechdel, whose most famous for her Bechdel test, was unable to make it due to the snow fall so it was just Winterson reading and discussing her memoir "Why be happy when you can be normal." She was really funny, a beautiful speaker and unfolded her story like it was a picnic blanket for all of us to share.

Some of the quotes I really liked: "When I break my leg, I go to the doctor. When I break my heart, I go to a poet; We live out some of our parent's failed lives; I told myself as the hero, like any shipwreck survivor; unhappy families are conspiracies of silences; For her, life was a pre-death experience; she was a violent philosopher; to be moved is to be fundamentally placed somewhere else; the newness of art throws us into the fire of discovery."

We were both tired so we hoofed it back to North Station. Sara had to stop and return her red box so we had to wait 5 minutes for her to find it. She eventually did and we walked the 35 steps to the train stop, only to see the train pulling away. Hilarious.

I trained home, then walked back to my apartment for sleep. Day was less note-taking and more just experiencing the conference for all its glory.

Love Always,
Joe

AWP 2013 ~ Day 1

AWP info booklet

Day 1

Waking up before 7 am for the first time in months was exhausting. But since the first panel started at 9 a.m. and Sara and I still need to get our badges, so it was a necessary evil. Of course, it was also the start of the two-day snow storm so just getting to the train stop was a journey in-of-itself.

The train was packed! The two-seat row was full, and the three-seat had people on the window and in the aisle seats, so whenever anyone had to sit you had to ask a person to move over. Because of this, Sara and I had to sit in separate seats, with me in a middle seat and Sara in an aisle seat. Since it was the first day of the conference, and because I had never been before, we're obviously going to talk. After the sentence sentence, the woman sitting next to me interrupts and asks if we're going to talk the whole ride.

Yes, of course we are. She then says she has a headache and wants to know if won't. I said that if she didn't mind, she could switch seats with Sara. That way we could still talk and it wouldn't bother her. The woman just huffed, zipped up her L.L. Bean jacket and went back to her book. Rude much. And then, the whole time Sara and I talked, she kept sighing.

But whatever. Sara and I got to Hynes Convention Center, and since I preregistered, I got my badge in five minutes. Sara however had to go wait in this super long, slow moving line. The next panel became at 10:30, and since Sara still hadn't gotten to the front, I left her in the line. I went to "Being a Good Literary Citizen." It was interesting, took about a page worth of notes and a lot of it was about having good manners, but it was a good way to kick start panels.

Next was "The First Five Pages," and it was packed! People were sitting on the floor in the aisle, along the wall, in the doorway, in each other's laps. The women all around had their knees pulled up to their chests, just so other people could sit down. This panel was super-informative about getting your book published and the importance of a great Query Letter and how to write one. Two super helpful tips were to personalize to the agent - "Hey, I love your podcast. Read my book!" - and keep your book to yourself until it's ready to be sent out. She said that one of her writers had given an unfinished version to a friend who gave it to an Editor and that burned a bridge with a press.

One thing that made me gave me pause was a comment about the dangers of self-publishing. They said that if you self-publish it makes them think "are you a great writer who is getting overlooked, or do you just want to be able to say "I published a book!"?" Kind of a throwback to how self-publishing used to be called "vanity printing." Yet, earlier in the panel, the agent said she literally rejects hundreds of manuscripts a day. Self-publishing can be vanity-driven, but it can also be a way to get your stuff out there. If you're a nobody, it's so much harder than someone who has a platform - a following, which is needed to publish in more traditional routes.

The last panel we attended was "Launching the Literary Journal." This was also extremely helpful and full of tips and tricks to use. Again some it was all about manners and respecting your readers and writers, but there was a good tidbit about establishing a connection with local galleries and artists to have access to art. After the panel, we walked around the bookfair and I went to the one of the guys from "Launching the Literary Journal" just so I could grab a copy of he's journal. He gave me a deal and I got a t-shirt too!

Eventually, we had dinner and then went to a reading by David Starkey and Marsha Pomerantz. Pomerantz was amazing! Her poem "Roy G. Biv Appears to Mebetween Two Clouds" was my favorite of the night. We also got to meet this professor from Minneapolis who spent time with a Swedish circus. It was super cool! I gave him my business card, so I hope you connects me. Just so when can be FB friends or something.

And the last event of the night was the Keynote speakers, Seamus Heaney & Derek Walcott. Before it began, Sara and I talked with a woman who was just about to start her PHD. She was really interesting, and again I gave her my card so I hope she emails me. Both poets were wonderful and it was lovely hearing them read their poems and then talking about the craft. After that, we had to go home cause we were almost falling asleep during the talk. haha.

It was an amazing day, and a great way to launch the conference.

Love Always,
Joe

Overcoming Treacherous Obstacles

I love walking with my head held up high as torrents of rain or hail pelt me. It's almost as if Mother Nature is trying to force me into submission, but I valiantly refuse to be swayed from my noble mission.

In other news, it started hailing as I was coming back from the grocery store and I ran home.

hahaha

Love Always,
Joe

My life

It's 12:50 a.m. on a Monday morning and I'm eating ice cream and researching for a story about male pregnancy.

I fear I've reached a point in my life where I can't go back. I'm officially a writer.

hahaha. The story can be found here.

Love always,
Joe

New York!

For the first time, I was in New York City. The school went as a day trip. Just for funnies.

Since the predeparture meeting started at 5:45 a.m, I decided to wake up at 4:30. And I did, it's just that I ended up spending 20 minutes on my hair. So I left my apartment at 5:40. haha, I got to Marsh at 5:50 and I was quickly filled in and directed to my bus. haha. It wasn't that bad actually because there were a couple of other students running late.

We ended up leaving Marsh at 6:30/6:45 instead of 6:00. But it was alright. I was sitting in the second row so I was close to a TV. We watched "That's My Boy" which was very much an Adam Sandler film. Our bus driver was very cool. There were a number of times when I thought we were going to get in an accident, but he managed to avoid it. Driving in New York seems crazy!

When we reached the city, we were free to just explore. Only rule was not to get arrested and to show up at the pick-up location at 6:30. Since I had tickets to see "Silence! The Musical!" at 2, I had about two hours to explore before the show started. I ended upstumbling upon this park with free ice skating and all these statues dedicated to famous writers – including one for Gertrude Stein, the “mother of the modern short storytelling” and an important figure in gay history in America. Two things that are really important to me, so it was refreshing to just find that.Not exactly fate, but like finding 20 dollars in a pocket. It was nice and felt very New York-y.

After the park I got hungry so I headed towards the theatre “Silence!” was taking place and I found this restaurant that was morgue themed – which appealed to my love of allthings macabre. I ended up ordering a burger with chicken fingers called “Severed Hand,” with the burger being the palm and the chicken as the fingers.It was deadly delicious.

 
  
Then it was time for the musical, which was beyond amazing. It was wicked funny, messing aroundwith the story. The plot stayed the same as the movie, but the jokes were outrageous and extreme or just plain silly. Like, having the only African-American cast member be the maid and having her character say “why I gotta be the maid?” Or the song about the Senator’s kidnapped daughter just being her name sung over and over again. I actually bought the soundtrack because I needed it on my iPod. Haha.

But! What may be even more exciting was I met (and took a photo with) an Internet celebrity before the musical started. On the bus trip to NYC, some of us were joking about how we were going to meet up with Jay-Z and Beyonce, and while that ideais ridiculous, it’s New York, there are famous people there. It was just surprising to see Sketch Comedienne Jenny Jaffe in the audience. She was so nice and humble; it just made the trip even better. I feel that most of the trip has an “once-in-a-lifetime” feel to it.

After the musical, I went to the National Photography Museum which had an exhibit on apartheid in South Africa. It was ironic that the National Photography Museum doesn't allow photographs, but it makes sense. The actual images and videos that were on display were really emotional and awe-inspiring. There were the expected So-In-So at the Signing of Something, but there were magazine covers dedicated to South Africans who were overcoming the laws in order to achieve their dreams, photos of shootings at schools, videos of police beating protestors. It was an intense experience, but I loved the photography aspect.

Then I went to the NYC library because it's me and yes I'm going to the library. They were having an exhibit on Dickens characters, but when I got there, they were closing. So since it was almost time to head back to the pick-up location, I headed towards a bar. Cause, I'm in NYC, of course I'm drinking. It was actually kind of uneventful and awkward. I ended up leaving the bar without finishing my drink. hahaha

The ride back home feature us stopping in CT and me begging my classmates not to leave me at the rest stop cause I was going to lay down on a bench. haha. I'm really glad I got to go and it was a great trip.


Love always,
Joe

Ocean

I love the ocean because the ocean doesn't love me; it consumes me.

Concerts

When writing my "Best of 2012" post I said that I had been to 15 concerts. But now that I'm thinking about it, I might have been to more. Part of me thinks that's kind of crazy, but another part knows that I've been going to as many concerts as I can because concerts are awesome. So I've decided to try and list the ones I've been to, and hopefully in chronologically order and links to songs!

1. Shinedown - Aug 2010. With sister, her then boyfriend, Cousin Seth, his fiancee, BFF Chris in Westfield. I don't remember much from this show, just that the people in front of us were really smelly and that whenever the lead singer tried to tell a story, people would shout for him to "just sing" - which is really rude and fucked up.

2. Miranda Lambert - Oct 2, 2010. Saw her at the Big E with my sister and a cousin. I'm not a big fan of country, but she has some good songs and despite the rain, I enjoyed myself. Plus, we made a day of it and I finally got to explore the rides and sights of the Big E.

3. Ellie Goulding - Mar 23, 2011. With BFF Chris in Boston. Ellie got lost in Boston so she was three late to the show. It was crazy, but we got to meet her and take a photo. She was really entertaining and I love to see her again.

4. Airborne Toxic Event - May 11, 2011. Again with BFF Chris in Boston. This show was amazing! My first time in the House of Blues, a guy proposed to his girlfriend (she said yes!), and it's where I discovered an indie band (I have their CD somewhere...). Again, I'd recommend seeing them live.

5. Maroon 5 - Aug 13, 2011. Alone, Comcast Center. My friend bailed at the last minute, but since Maroon 5 is one of my all-time favorite bands, I loved the show. Train also preformed, but I had to be leave before they took the stage. Still, it was a great show and I loved seeing them.

6. Sara Bareilles - Aug 30, 2011. Sister and Karaa from High School, Boston. OMG, Sara has a mouth worse than a sailor! Within the first couple of songs she was dropping f-bombs and I'm pretty sure she said cunt at least three times! But she's amazing and knows how to play to a crowd and she's wicked funny. I actually starting following her on Twitter because of this show.

7. Mixfest! - Sept 17, 2011. BFF Chris, Boston. A local radio show hosted a free concert in the park, featuring Bareilles, Michelle Branch, Grace Potter and The Nocturnals, and a couple more. Sitting on the grass in a park, listening to music was so college student, that it was perfect. The show was free, so I won't complain about anything.

8.  Reba McEntire - Oct 1, 2011. With my sister, her friend and her friend's sister at the Big E. One of the most famous singers of my lifetime and definitely someone who brings in a crowd, Reba was a delight to see. She sang her more famous and more recent songs in full, and then did a melody combining her other songs. It was a great show.

9. Grace Kelly Quintet - Oct 3, 2011. Alone. WOW! Grace is a saxophone prodigy and that surprises no one after hearing her perform. I got to meet her and see signed my playbook. She's definitely small-time right now, but give her a little more time and all she needs is one large stream media to grab her and she's be famous.

10. Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra - Nov 19, 2011. With my sister, friend was in the show.  OK, this one might not really count, but it does. I wanted to support my friend who plays violin, but I also wanted to enjoy the music. I'm a classy bitch.

11. Kelly Clarkson - Jan 26, 2012. With sister and BFF Chris. What's funny about this show is the week before Chris asked if I wanted to see her, I was hearing Clarkson everywhere - radio stations, stores, just on TV. What's awesome was we were in the last row, aisle seats and two were together and there's a barrier or sorts for the other one. It was super silly. But the show itself was great. Clarkson is definitely a cultural figure and she has the power to reach the balcony seats. I would love to see her again, just with much better seats.

12. Gym Class Heroes - April 19, 2012. Alone, Salem State University.  I got to see them free! By being press, I was invite to see the show for free and I took my photographer too. haha. I had to work so hard to make sure I was the reporter who got to cover this. Multiple interviews, tracking people down and two articles, but it was worth it. GCH is a fun band, and it was nice to feel like a journalist because of this. 

13. Ingrid Michaelson - May 15, 2012. With my cousin Amy,in Boston. I've been a fan of Ingrid for years and seeing her live was great. She tells stories and jokes about her career and her voice is deeper, but in a more heartfelt way live. She was funny and sweet and it was such a relaxed night. Ingrid is definitely someone I'd like to see again.

14. Marina and the Diamonds and Coldplay - July 30, 2012. With my girls, BRL and GD. After GD had converted me to a Marina fan, I knew we had to see her. We were at the Garden and sit almost directly behind the stage, but she was great. The opener was Emeli Sande and both women were able to project despite the Garden's crappy sound system. We only stayed for the first few songs of Coldplay, cause none of us really like them. But Coldplay knows how to play to a crowd, with glowing bracelets of varying colors.

15. Florence + The Machine - Sept 14, 2012. With GD, sister, cousin Amy and her friend Mick. It's Florence live. Of course this show was breathe-taking. The drive there was crazy fun as well. hahaha. But with her soulful sound and her latest album only being a few months old, Florence was great. She played to the crowd amazingly, and she even left the stage to run around in the hall, barefoot because she is a wild woman. One hell of a night, and worth every minute.

16. Me Vs. Gravity - Dec 9, 2012. With my mom and in Cambridge. That band and 3 others, but we left early because Mum didn't like the music. hahaha. Also, it was super-hipster and in the back of a breakfast joint. If you looked up on the dance floor, you could see pipes held together with duct tape. So totally hipster, not even a real show. But the day was amazing because after the show we did a whole explore Boston thing. It was so much fun. 




I know I'm missing at least two shows, maybe more. But I'll make sure to come back to this in the future.