NAMM Convention 2008
So we just got back from the huge NAMM convention in Anaheim. NAMM is the National Association of Music Merchants and is the 3rd largest convention in the United States. It is freaking huge and ridiculously intimidating. Last year was the first year I went with Kevin and I had a blast. Last year I met a couple of cool people like Nikki Sixx and got to see Earth Wind and Fire and Richard Marx in concert. But this year was the SHIT.
Yamaha throws a huge concert for all their dealers and has artists who are associated with Yamaha come play at it, hence Earth Wind and Fire last year. This year the show didn't seem like it was going to be that great with the headliner being John Legend and that was about it, but they said they had a special guest who they weren't announcing... At the end of the show they wheeled out a new piano so Kevin and I started speculating that maybe it was Alicia Keyes or Elton John (both of which have done the show in the past), but then they wheeled out keyboards and we started getting excited because we both immediately thought of Stevie Wonder. Lo and behold out he comes and starts playing. It was awesome. He played superstition and a bunch of other songs. He was amazing.
Then the rest of the weekend while out of the show we saw a plethora of artists both milling around and signing. We saw Dave Mustaine of Megadeath and then the best part was walking around and happening upon Jason Bonham of Led Zepplin as he was arriving for a signing engagement. I was pushy enough to get close enough to him to take a picture with him. It was awesome. Someone in the crowd asked if the new tour was going to happen and he said "he hopes so but depends on the fans." I never really know what that means.
I ran into Malcolm-Jamal Warner AKA Theo from the Cosby show. I asked him if I could take a picture with him and he was pretty rude. I saw him again the next day and he was mostly just loitering and we decided he was just trying to be recognized. Bleh.
Saw Dave Navarro but wasn't going to wait in line for his autograph, got my picture taken with the playmate of the year again this year. Got a bunch of other random pictures of band members of other groups that I couldn't for the life of me tell you who they are now.
Saw Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins sitting in a booth tuning a guitar chatting with the proprietor with pretty much everyone walking by him not noticing him. He looked pretty chill and unassuming.
I'm kind of bummed I missed seeing Santana, he was apparently roaming around but it's a big place and there are always lots of people you miss and hear about later. Overall it was an awesome trip, tiring but awesome. I can't wait until next year.
This is what a quarter-life crisis feels like...
So I have been out of school for a few months and I have no idea what to do with myself. For the first month or so I had no idea what to do with all my free time. When I came home from work I would normally rush right to school or immediately start homework but now I don't have jack shit to do. In the past few years I've forgotten how to read for fun, I've forgotten how to clean my house when I'm not avoiding homework, I've forgotten how to call up a friend and go get a leisurely drink in the evening. This is totally ridiculous. I'm freaking 25 years old and I don't know how to be a 25 year old. In my family and frankly in my life I have always been the responsible one or the one who will eat ramen noodles if I have bills to pay. I literally DO NOT know how to be irresponsible. Needless to say, I don't know how to act my freaking age.
This entire life crisis was brought about when I was chatting with my interns at work and they were talking about their plans after they graduate over the next couple quarters. Here these kids are only a few years younger then me and are totally planning to throw caution to the wind and go gallivanting around Europe for like 8 weeks with no thought whatsoever to bills or responsibilities. This literally makes me break out in hives, yet at the same time makes me incredibly jealous because I know I would never throw caution to the wind like that.
I have never been irresponsible. I honestly don't know how to do it. After talking with the interns I started looking at going on an impromptu vacation and everything I considered doing just wasn't logically feasible--or was it? Was it just simply that it is so outside my comfort zone that it immediately becomes illogical? For example, there was a great deal to fly to Washington D.C. this weekend for $199. Granted, I would be going by myself because no one I know could up and go at this time because they are still in school or have family obligations or they aren't going through the same series of crises that I am, but rather then booking it I decided I couldn't do it... I had absolutely nothing planned this weekend out of the ordinary but just arbitrarily decided it wouldn't work. Washington D.C. is someplace I definitely want to go to as well, so in hindsight it is a great example to look at and try to discern what my deal is...
This sort of all feels like a big bitch and whine fest but frankly whatever, sometimes I guess everyone needs to have it. I have never been outside the United States and never really did anything big to celebrate my graduation from UCSB, which was a really long time coming. I can’t really afford to take that big trip most graduates do because I actually am an adult with actual adult bills, and I don’t have the family members who give you thousands of dollars for graduation gifts. I luckily have parents, Rob and Karlene whom I adore who instead gave UCSB thousands of dollars in the form of tuition so I wouldn’t have to take out loans or just quit school and for that I am eternally grateful. I have an amazing boyfriend whom I adore and can’t imagine life without, yet at the same time with him I also get a ready made family which makes the thought of being irresponsible even more ridiculous. I adore Kevin’s sons and wouldn’t trade them for anything, let alone a trip to anywhere, yet at the same time I wonder if I’ve missed my opportunity to be that irresponsible youth where your indiscretions are inevitably excused by all those who love and care for you.
All in all, at the end of this rambling let it be known… even if (and I know I have been) I have been very very grumpy and hard to deal with, I love you Kevin and I love Daniel and Glenn to the ends of the earth. I love my baby sisters and my increasingly spoiled and “embracing her terrible two’s” niece Abbagale, I love my Mom for being helpful recently, I love Rob and Karlene for all that they have done and continually do, I love all my extended family for being there and hopefully trying to keep in touch. Very importantly, I love all my friends who I don’t always talk to very often but I adore all the same—there are far too many of you to name and I would inevitably miss someone.
I also love my dog Cooper who only poops on my carpet randomly rather then daily which is a SERIOUS improvement. He cuddles really amazingly though so he makes the cut!!!
I graduated!
My niece Abbagale
My main man Kevin
My two lovely sisters
I finally graduated this past Sunday. I am ridiculously excited, scared, tired, happy and a million other things.
Thanks to all my wonderful friends, amazing family and especially my fantastic boyfriend Kevin for everything they have done and their endless support.
Graduation
One month away...
Yowsa
God damn it
I just had a crazy long new post but this new "updated" version of blogger tweaked out and it is GONE. So now I am crazy irritated and will have to try again another time.
New developments in my life
I spoke about my relationship with Kevin and his kids. I thought I should put some additional faces to names.
Daniel and I
Kisses
Kev, Glenn and I
Attack of the toys
Children of Men
Stacie and I went and saw this movie tonight and I must say...I thought it was fantastic. I read some reviews about it before I saw it and I will agree that Alfonso Cuaron's vision of the not so distant future is frighteningly realistic. He did an amazing job with the story as well as every other aspect of the movie. It was incredibly powerful and brings a lot of questions to mind. Stacie and I spoke about how bizarre it would be not to have children around and to have a prospect of all women being unable to conceive in less then twenty years.
In a related note I guess it was fantastic to see you again Stacie and I am sorry it has been so long!!! I know my schedule is not very conducive to having much free time these days but I hope we can do it again soon.
Life
So for those who don't know--probably everyone but Stacie--I have been seeing an amazing guy for the last four months or so. He wasn't a stranger to me, rather one of my best friends. He was at one time married and is in the process of a divorce; he also has two wonderful sons who I have known since birth. We are having to deal with a lot of crap these days with really immature people and unfortunately some back-stabbing friends. One of Kevin's oldest friends, Justin has a wife named Alyssa. Sadly Alyssa doesn't understand the concept of friend. The whole time Kevin and I have been seeing each other we have all hung out and been the best of friends--only to find out that she was going behind Justin and our backs and chatting it up with Kim (ex). Not just being friends which is her perogative, but talking shit, serious shit, about Kevin and I while at the same time being our friends. These are concepts I have a hard time understanding. Most people who know me know that I am a relative straight shot when it comes to my feelings and whatnot. If I don't like you, you tend to know it. I can't fathom playing both sides of the fence. This was a serious blow to my ability to trust people and have a full idea about their intentions.
But most importantly Kevin and I are super happy and the boys are adjusting well. Kim tells Kevin she can't afford food and diapers, while at the same time throwing parties and going out all the time--fantastic priorities... But she has herself and her white trash brigade convinced she is an amazing person, friend, Mom, and God knows what else. It is frusterating. Especially since you can't even fight these type of people with logic--because they don't understand it.
Well, anyway... Here are a few pictures to catch everyone up.
Kevin and I in front of our Christmas tree
Kevin, Craig and I for Halloween... The Keg was functioning!!!
Abbagale at Christmas. She is getting so dang big and even more wonderful then before.
Fawn and I in SF on Danielle's roof. It is really amazing up there.
School
School starts this week. Shit. I am taking 20 units to insure graduating on-time. The school messed up and double counted a couple of my classes towards two different requirements--so I wasn't sitting where I should have been. But I am hell bent on graduating in June dammit!!! The quarter started this week and is already off to a good start, namely I am behind in reading--but if I used that as an indicator I would have been hurting ever since the beginning of school. I always have amazing goals and expectations at the beginning of a quarter, about staying up on the reading and whatnot, but it never stays that way. I snap back to reality after the first few weeks. So I'm sorry about my obscene lack of posts and I hate to say I don't know if it will get better until June : (
